-bait

suffix

Forms nouns which refer to acts of manipulation or manipulative material which seek to elicit a particular response.

OriginEnglish bait ← Middle English bayte ← Old Norse beita →
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Meanings

suffix-bait (noun-forming suffix, uncountable)
  1. InternetuncountableForms nouns which refer to acts of manipulation or manipulative material which seek to elicit a particular response.
  2. InternetuncountableForms verbs which refer to performing the above acts or creating the above material.
  3. alternativeuncountableAlternative form of bait (etymology 1, noun sense 3)

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeyd-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰéydt
  3. Proto-Germanic*bītaną
  4. Proto-Germanic*baitijaną
  5. Old Norsebeita
  6. Middle Englishbayte
  7. Englishbait
  8. English-bait

From bait.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-bait. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-bait

MLA

“-bait.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-bait. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-bait,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-bait.

Source: -bait on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.