English
bottom
Bottom comes from Old English botm ‘bottom, foundation’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰmḗnreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*butmaz‘bottom’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*butmreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150botm‘bottom’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500botme
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591bottom
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰudʰmḗnreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*butmaz‘bottom’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*butmreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150botm‘bottom’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500botme
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591bottom
Earliest quotation: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “As you vnwinde her loue from him, / Lest…”
first attested The noun sense “posterior of a person” is first attested in 1794; the verb sense “to reach the bottom of” is first attested in 1808 (as stated in the etymology)
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- ‘to sink in’
deep, depth, dumb, dave, fundamental, dip, deaf, dove, dub, butte, typhus, fonds, profundity, doof, fundus, 20 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn
fund, foundation, founder, fond, bourne, 17 more
through Middle English botme
Today it means
noun The lowest part of anything.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn / bottom