Etymology

bestir

B3E1S1T1I1R1

Today it means: To put into brisk or vigorous action; to move with life and vigor. Full definition →

Middle English bestyrien ← Old English bestyrian ← Proto-West Germanic *sturjan
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₁ep-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₁éps
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₁épi
  4. Proto-Indo-European*h₁pi
  5. Proto-Germanic*bi
  6. Proto-Germanic*bi-
  7. Proto-West Germanic*bi-
  8. Old Englishbe-
  9. Proto-Indo-European*(s)twerH-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*(s)twr̥H-yé-ti?
  11. Proto-Germanic*sturjaną
  12. Proto-West Germanic*sturjan
  13. Old Englishstyrian
  14. Old Englishbestyrian
  15. Middle Englishbestyrien
  16. English todaybestir

From Middle English bestyrien, bestirien, from Old English bestyrian (“to heap up, pile up”), equivalent to be- + stir.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.