Etymograph

English

clickbait

Clickbait comes from Middle English bayte ‘Bait or lure’, from Old Norse beita ‘to graze’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- ‘to split’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeyd-‘to split’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéydt‘to split’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bītaną‘to bite’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baitijaną‘to make bite’reconstructed
  5. Old Norsec. 800–1350beita‘to graze’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bayte‘Bait or lure’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2012clickbait

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeyd-‘to split’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰéydt‘to split’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bītaną‘to bite’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baitijaną‘to make bite’reconstructed
  5. Old Norsec. 800–1350beita‘to graze’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bayte‘Bait or lure’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 2012clickbait

Earliest quotation: 2012, Gideon Haigh, The Deserted Newsroom: “Fairfax's sites are renowned for what is sometimes called…”

A compound of click + -bait ‘manipulation to elicit a particular response’

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- ‘to split’

boat, fiber, bitter, fibre, fission, fissure, feta, fissile, fettuccine, 25 more

through Proto-Germanic *bītaną ‘to bite’

bite, 7 more

through Proto-Germanic *baitijaną ‘to make bite’

bet, abet, 6 more

Today it means

noun Website content that is aimed at generating advertising revenue, especially at the expense of quality or accuracy, relying on sensationalist headlines to attract click-throughs; such headlines.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- / clickbait

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