English

be-

/bɪ/
By, near, next to, around, close to.

    Etymology graph

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    Origin

    From Middle English be-, bi-, from Old English be- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi- (“be-”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi (“at, near”). See by, by-.

    Cognate with Saterland Frisian bi- (“be-”), West Frisian be- (“be-”), Dutch be- (“be-”), German Low German be- (“be-”), German be- (“be-”), Danish be- (“be-”), Swedish be- (“be-”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishbi-
      • inheritedOld Englishbe- “be-”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*bi- “be-”
        • inheritedProto-Germanic*bi- “be-”
      • derivedOld Englishbī- “by, near, around”

    Related: Saterland Frisian bi-, West Frisian be-, Dutch be-, German Low German be-, German be-, Danish be-, Swedish be-

    Words built on it: but, between, become, behind, ben

    Sources