bitch

The story

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*bikjaną“to thrust, attack”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bikjǭ“female dog”
3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*bikkjā
4. Old English · inherited frombiċċe
5. Middle English · inherited frombiche
6. English todaybitch

From Middle English biche, bicche, from Old English biċċe, from Proto-West Germanic *bikkjā, from Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ (“female dog”) (compare Norwegian bikkje (“dog, bitch”), Old Danish bikke (“bitch”)), from Proto-Germanic *bikjaną (“to thrust, attack”) (compare Old Norse bikkja (“to plunge into water”), Dutch bikken (“to hack”)). Related to bicker.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 15th c. A despicable or disagreeable, aggressive person, usually a woman.
• from the 20th c A submissive person who does what others want; (prison slang) a man forced or coerced into a homosexual relationship.
• from the 20th ca Friend.
• from the 16th c A playful variation on dog (sense "man").