English
beaver
Beaver comes from Middle English bever ‘a beaver’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰébʰrusreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bebruzreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bebrureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150befer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bever‘a beaver’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591beaver
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰébʰrusreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bebruzreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bebrureconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150befer
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bever‘a beaver’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591beaver
Earliest quotation: 1591, Edmund Spenser, Prosopopoia; or, Mother Hubberd’s Tale: “Then, for the safeguard of his personage, He did…”
The story
Non-Germanic cognates include Welsh befer, Latin fiber, Lithuanian bẽbras, Russian бобр (bobr), Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬎𐬎𐬭𐬀 (bauura), and Sanskrit बभ्रु (bábhru, “mongoose; ichneumon”). Slang use to refer to a woman evolved from use to refer to pubic hair, which evolved from use to refer to beards, which evolved from use to refer to the furry animal or its fur.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- ‘brown’
brown, bone, boring, bore, interfere, berry, brunette, bruin, burnish, 12 more
Today it means
noun A semiaquatic rodent of the genus Castor, having a wide, flat tail and webbed feet, native to the Northern Hemisphere.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰébʰrus / beaver