Etymology

bitter

bit·ter
B3I1T1T1E1R1

Today it means: Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance). Full definition →

Middle English bittre ← Old English biter ← Proto-West Germanic *bitr
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bitter · adjective, adverb, noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeyd-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰidrós
  3. Proto-Germanic*bitraz
  4. Proto-West Germanic*bitr
  5. Old Englishbiter
  6. Middle Englishbittre
  7. English todaybitter

From Middle English bitter, bittre, from Old English bitter, biter (“bitter”), from Proto-West Germanic *bitr, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz (“bitter”), equivalent to bite + -er (agent noun suffix) used attributively. Cognate with Saterland Frisian, West Frisian, Low German, Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish bitter, Icelandic bitur (all meaning “bitter”).

bitter · noun2

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  2. Proto-Indo-European*trísinflu.
  3. Proto-Indo-European*dwís
  4. Proto-Italic*dwis
  5. Proto-Italic*dwiznos
  6. Latinbīnus
  7. Late Latinbīnāriu
  8. Middle Englishbinarie
  9. Englishbinary
  10. Proto-Indo-European*deyḱ-der.?
  11. Latindigitus
  12. Middle Englishdigit
  13. Englishdigit
  14. Englishbinary digitabbr.
  15. Englishbitinflu.
  16. Englishbit
  17. English todaybitter

From bit + -er.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.