Etymology

beggarware

B3E1G2G2A1R1W4A1R1E1

Today it means: freeware that encourages the user to make an optional donation to its author Full definition →

English softwarebf. ← Middle English ware ← Old English waru
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

The story

  1. Englishbeggar
  2. Proto-West Germanic*samft(ī)
  3. Old Englishsōfte
  4. Middle Englishsofte
  5. Englishsoft
  6. Proto-Germanic*warō
  7. Proto-West Germanic*waru
  8. Old Englishwaru
  9. Middle Englishware
  10. Englishsoftwarebf.
  11. English todaybeggarware

From beggar + -ware.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.