The story
- Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰeh₁-“to warm”
- Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*baþþjan
- Old English · inherited frombeþian
- Middle English · inherited frombethen
- English todaybeath
From Middle English bethen, from Old English beþian, beþigean, beþþan, bæþþan (“to heat, warm, foment, wash, cherish; bathe”), from Proto-West Germanic *baþþjan, *baþigōn, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁- (“to warm”). Cognate with Middle Dutch betten, bessen (“to moisten with hot water, humidify”).
Words from the same roots
Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₁- all →
bathbathe
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.