Where does “bi-” come from?

bi- (Old Dutch) comes from Old Dutch bī, from Proto-Germanic bi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂m̥bʰi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂n̥tbʰi, from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts, from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent-, from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- — on, onto.

bi- (Old Dutch): A prefix used to make transitive verbs

Definitions

  1. A prefix used to make transitive verbs

Ancestry of “bi-”, step by step

bi- traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Old Dutch bī

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Dutchbīby, near
2Proto-Germanicbiby, at; near, around
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂m̥bʰiaround, on either side of, about; in exchange...
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂n̥tbʰi—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via Proto-Germanic bi-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicbi-by, at

via Proto-West Germanic bi-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicbi-be-

Words derived from “bi-”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂ent- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂énts →