Etymology

flamebait

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Today it means: Content in an online forum, such as a newsgroup, with the intent of provoking anger, resulting in flames and sometimes flame wars. Full definition →

English bait ← Middle English bayte ← Old Norse beita
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰel-
  2. Proto-Italic*flagmā
  3. Latinflammula
  4. Old Frenchflamble
  5. Old Frenchflambe
  6. Old Frenchflamber
  7. Middle Englishflawmen
  8. Englishflame
  9. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeyd-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*bʰéydt
  11. Proto-Germanic*bītaną
  12. Proto-Germanic*baitijaną
  13. Old Norsebeita
  14. Middle Englishbayte
  15. Englishbait
  16. English todayflamebait

From flame + -bait (manipulation to elicit a particular response).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.