Where does “bī-” come from?

bī- (Old English) comes from Old English bī, from Proto-West Germanic 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.

bī- (Old English): by, near, around; by-

Definitions

  1. by, near, around; by-

Ancestry of “bī-”, step by step

bī- traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English bī

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishbīlullaby!; near, by; by, near, around
2Proto-West Germanicbīby, at; near, around
3Proto-Germanicbiby, at; near, around
4Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂m̥bʰiaround, on either side of, about; in exchange...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂n̥tbʰi—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via Proto-Germanic bi-

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicbi-by, at

Words derived from “bī-”

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