Etymology

bel-

Today it means: A prefix equivalent to grand- Full definition →

Middle English bel ← Anglo-Norman bel ← Old French bel
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bel- · prefix1

  1. Old French · derived frombel“beautiful, noble, honorable”
  2. Anglo-Norman · derived frombel
  3. Middle English · derived frombel“fair, excellent"; in compounds "great-, grand-”
  4. English todaybel-

From Middle English bel (“fair, excellent"; in compounds "great-, grand-”), from Anglo-Norman bel, Old French bel (“beautiful, noble, honorable”).

Bel- · prefix2

Clipping of Belgian.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishbel all →

beldame

Old Frenchbel all →

Bellamybeldame

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.