English
bitch
Bitch comes from Old English biċċe ‘female dog’, from Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ ‘female dog’, from *bikjaną ‘to thrust, attack’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bikjaną‘to attack, stab, thrust’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bikjǭ‘female dog’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bikkjāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150biċċe‘bitch, female dog’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500biche
- Englishearliest quotation 1638bitch
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bikjaną‘to attack, stab, thrust’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bikjǭ‘female dog’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bikkjāreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150biċċe‘bitch, female dog’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500biche
- Englishearliest quotation 1638bitch
Earliest quotation: 1638, Democritus Junior pseudonym; Robert Burt, Fear: “He cals her on a ſudden, all to naught;…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to smash, break’
back, bank, beach, baker, bench, banquet, baxter, batch, petite, banco, petit, banque, 8 more
through Proto-Germanic *bikjaną ‘to thrust, attack’
through Old English biċċe ‘bitch, a female dog’
Today it means
noun A female dog or other canine, particularly a recent mother.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *bikjaną / bitch