English
beetle
Beetle comes from Middle English bitle.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bitle
- Englishearliest quotation 1944beetle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bitle
- Englishearliest quotation 1944beetle
Earliest quotation: 1944, Queen's Nurses' Magazine: “Guessing competitions were tackled with much enthusiasm, followed by…”
Formed from bite + -le
Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- ‘split’
…
Proto-Germanic *bītaną
Proto-West Germanic *bītan ‘to bite’
Old English bītan
Middle English biten ‘to bite’
English bite
Every English word from Middle English bitle
Another origin of beetle
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bitel-brouwed‘beetle-browed’
- Englishtodaybeetle
Possibly after beetle, from the fact that some beetles have bushy antennae.
Another origin of beetle
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰew-uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bautaną‘to beat, knock, bump, push’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bautilazreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bautil‘hammer, mallet’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bīetel‘hammer’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150bȳtel‘hammer’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500betel‘mallet, maul, hammer’
- Englishtodaybeetle
Today it means
noun Any of numerous species of insect in the order Coleoptera characterized by a pair of hard, shell-like front wings which cover and protect a pair of rear wings when at rest.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English bitle / beetle