Etymology

baitware

B3A1I1T1W4A1R1E1

Today it means: Freeware of deliberately poor quality with some, but generally not all, of the features of a software application, intended to entice those who download the freeware to buy the complete application. Full definition →

English softwarebf. ← Middle English ware ← Old English waru
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeyd-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰéydt
  3. Proto-Germanic*bītaną
  4. Proto-Germanic*baitijaną
  5. Old Norsebeita
  6. Middle Englishbayte
  7. Englishbait
  8. Proto-West Germanic*samft(ī)
  9. Old Englishsōfte
  10. Middle Englishsofte
  11. Englishsoft
  12. Proto-Germanic*warō
  13. Proto-West Germanic*waru
  14. Old Englishwaru
  15. Middle Englishware
  16. Englishsoftwarebf.
  17. English todaybaitware

From bait + -ware.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.