English
business
Business comes from Old English bisiġnes ‘business, busyness’, from bisiġ ‘busy’, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *bisīg.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bisīg‘zealous’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bisiġ‘busy’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150bisiġnes‘business’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500busines
- Englishearliest quotation 1651business
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bisīg‘zealous’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bisiġ‘busy’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150bisiġnes‘business’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500busines
- Englishearliest quotation 1651business
Earliest quotation: 1651, Thomas Hobbes, Chapter I: Of Sense: “To know the naturall cause of Sense, is not…”
Formed from busy + -ness
Proto-West Germanic *bisīg ‘diligent’
Old English bisiġ ‘busy’
Middle English bisy ‘engaged in activity’
English busy
The story
Sense 17 (something very good, top quality), possibly derives from "the bee's knees"
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- ‘to fear, be afraid’
through Old English bisiġ ‘busy’
through Old English bisiġnes ‘business, busyness’
Today it means
noun A specific commercial enterprise or establishment.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *bisīg / business