Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “beterian” come from?

beterian (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic batizōną, from Proto-Germanic -ōną, from Proto-Indo-European -eh₂yéti, from Proto-Indo-European -yéti, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.

beterian (Old English): to improve, to make better

Definitions

  1. to improve, to make better

Ancestry of “beterian”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-GermanicbatizōnąTo make better; improve
2Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
3Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
4Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
6Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “beterian”

  • better
  • betterment
  • bettering
  • bettermost
  • betterer
  • bettereth
  • bettern't
  • betterest
  • embetterment
  • betterish
  • unbetterable
  • embetter
  • bettership
  • betterfy
  • betterhood
  • bettererer
  • beterynge
  • beteren
  • better
  • gebeterian
Every word from Chichewa iye →