Etymology

backbeat

B3A1C3K5B3E1A1T1

Today it means: The sharp accent on the second and fourth beats of rock music in 4/4 time. Full definition →

English beat ← Middle English bak ← Old English bæc
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeg-der.?
  2. Proto-Germanic*baką
  3. Proto-West Germanic*bak
  4. Old Englishbæc
  5. Middle Englishbak
  6. Englishback
  7. Englishbeat
  8. English todaybackbeat

From back + beat.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.