Etymograph

English

be

Be comes from Middle English been ‘to be’, from Old English bēon ‘to be’, from Proto-Germanic *beuną ‘to be’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-‘to be’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuHyéti‘to grow, become’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*beuną‘to be’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*beunreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150bēon‘to be’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500been‘to be’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1526be

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-‘to be’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuHyéti‘to grow, become’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*beuną‘to be’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*beunreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150bēon‘to be’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500been‘to be’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1526be

Earliest quotation: 1526, [William Tyndale, The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible): “Rachel wepynge ffor her chyldren / and wolde nott…”

The story

Further etymology of be and its conjugated forms The various forms have three separate origins, which were mixed together at various times in the history of English.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- ‘to be, become, grow, appear’

power, possible, future, present, build, improve, presence, essential, bond, bush, bound, physics, absence, contribution, entity, booth, approve, probability, absent, favorable, distribute, contributor, fiat, bun, favourable, bouquet, retribution, attribution, rebuke, impotent, impossibility, bower, bosque, phylogeny, phylum, approbation, busk, beamer, boor, futur, 78 more

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyéti ‘to be becoming, to be growing, to be appearing’

physical, physician, imp, physic, 11 more

through Proto-Germanic *beuną ‘to become’

bist, 2 more

through Old English bēon ‘to be’

aren, 2 more

through Middle English been ‘to be’

been, ben, bee, bein

Another origin of be

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500be
  2. Englishtodaysame form

A variant of by which goes back to Middle English be (variant of Middle English bi).

Another origin of be

  1. Russianmodernбэ‘the name of the Cyrillic script letter Б/б’
  2. Englishtodaybe

Today it means

verb As an auxiliary verb: Used with past participles of verbs to form the passive voice.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- / be

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