Where does “bad” come from?

bad (Old High German) comes from Proto-West Germanic baþ, from Proto-Germanic baþą, from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₁- — to foment; warm; bathe.

bad (Old High German): bath

Definitions

  1. bath

Ancestry of “bad”, step by step

bad traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-West Germanic baþ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-West Germanicbaþbath
2Proto-Germanicbaþąbath
3Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰeh₁-to foment; warm; bathe

via Proto-Germanic *baþ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanic*baþ—

Words derived from “bad”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₁- →Every word from Proto-Germanic baþą →Every word from Proto-West Germanic baþ →