English
bed
Bed comes from Middle English bed ‘a bed’, from Proto-West Germanic *badi ‘plot of ground, flowerbed’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *badją.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*badją‘resting-place’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*badi‘plot of ground’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bedd
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bed‘a bed’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602bed
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*badją‘resting-place’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*badi‘plot of ground’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bedd
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bed‘a bed’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602bed
Earliest quotation: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “Your bedded hair like life in excrements”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁- ‘to warm’
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰh₂- ‘to dig, burrow’
Today it means
noun A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *badją / bed