baitware

B3A1I1T1W4A1R1E1

noun

Freeware of deliberately poor quality with some, but generally not all, of the features of a software application, intended to entice those who download the freeware to buy the complete application.

OriginEnglish softwarebf. ← Middle English ware ← Old English waru →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

nounbaitware (uncountable)
  1. uncountablecomputingFreeware of deliberately poor quality with some, but generally not all, of the features of a software application, intended to entice those who download the freeware to buy the complete application.

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. Proto-West Germanic*samft(ī)
  9. Old Englishsōfte
  10. Middle Englishsofte
  11. Englishsoft
  12. Proto-Germanic*warō
  13. Proto-West Germanic*waru
  14. Old Englishwaru
  15. Middle Englishware
  16. Englishsoftwarebf.
  17. Englishbaitware

From bait + -ware.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

baitware. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baitware

MLA

“baitware.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baitware. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “baitware,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/baitware.

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