Where does “bekim tok” come from?
bekim tok (Tok Pisin) comes from Tok Pisin bekim, from English back-, from Middle English bak-, from Middle English abak, from Old English onbæc, from Old English on, from Proto-West Germanic ana, from Proto-Germanic *an — on, onto.
bekim tok (Tok Pisin): respond
Ancestry of “bekim tok”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Tok Pisin | bekim | return |
| 2 | English | back- | Back "in its adverbial senses"; Situated,... |
| 3 | Middle English | bak- | — |
| 4 | Middle English | abak | — |
| 5 | Old English | onbæc | — |
| 6 | Old English | on | on, in, at, among; from |
| 7 | Proto-West Germanic | ana | on |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *an | — |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | ana | on, at; on, onto; ana |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂en- | on, onto |