Etymology Explorer › Old Dutch

Where does “bitter” come from?

bitter (Old Dutch) comes from Old Norse bitr, from Proto-Germanic bitraz, from Proto-Indo-European bʰidrós — biting, splitting.

Ancestry of “bitter”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsebitrbitter
2Proto-Germanicbitrazbitter
3Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰidrósbiting, splitting

Words derived from “bitter”

  • bitter
  • bitterzoet
  • bitteren
  • bitter
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰidrós →