A- (3) prefix meaning "not," from Gk a-, an- "not," from pie base *ne "not" (see un-)

betroth --- 1303, betrouthen, from bi- "thoroughly" + O.E. treowðe "truth, a pledge" (see troth).

better --- O.E. betera (see best). Comparative adj. of good in the older Gmc. languages (cf. O.N. betr, Dan. bedre, Ger. besser, Goth. batiza). Superseded bet in the adv. sense by 1600. Better half "wife" is first attested 1580; to get the better of (someone) is from 1461.

Betula --- genus of the birches, from L. betula "birch," from Gaul. betu- "bitumen" (cf. M.Ir. beithe "box tree," Welsh bedwen "birch tree"). According to Pliny, so called because the Gauls extracted tar from birches. Birch tar is still sold as an analgesic and stimulant and made into birch beer by the Pennsylvania Dutch.

between --- O.E. betweonum, from bi- "by" + tweonum dat. pl. of *tweon "two each" (cf. Goth. tweih-nai "two each"). Horace Walpole's playful coinage betweenity (1760) is a useful word. Between a rock and a hard place is from 1940s, originally cowboy slang.

betwixt --- O.E. betweox, from bi- "by" + tweox "for two," from P.Gmc. *twa "two" + *-isk "-ish." With parasitic -t that appeared in O.E.

Beulah --- fem. proper name, from Heb. be'ulah "married woman," fem. pp. of ba'al "he married" (see baal).

bevel --- 1562, possibly from O.Fr. *baivel, from bayer "to gape, yawn," from L. *batare "to yawn, gape," from L. root *bat-, possibly imitative of yawning. The verb is first recorded 1677.

beverage --- 1237, from Anglo-Fr. beverage, from O.Fr. bevre "to drink" (from L. bibere "to imbibe;" see imbibe) + -age, suffix forming mass or abstract nouns.

bevy --- c.1430, collective noun of quails and ladies, from Anglo-Fr. bevée, of unknown origin. One supposed definition of the word is "a drinking bout," but this is perhaps a misprint of bever, from O.Fr. beivre (see beverage). Still, it's possible that the original sense could be a company of birds gathered at a puddle or pool for drinking or bathing.

bewail --- c.1300, from be- + wail (q.v.).

beware --- c.1200, probably from a conflation of be ware (though the compound bewarian "defend" existed in O.E.). See wary.

bewilder --- 1684, from be- "thoroughly" + archaic wilder "lead astray, lure into the wilds," probably a back-formation of wilderness. An earlier word with the same sense was bewhape (c.1320).

bewitch --- c.1205, biwicchen, from be- + O.E. wiccian "to enchant." Literal at first, figurative sense of "to fascinate" is from 1526. *Bewiccian may well have existed in O.E., but it is not attested.

bey --- governor of a Turkish district, 1599, from Turk. bey, a title of honor, the Osmanli equivalent of Turk. beg.

beyond --- O.E. begeondan "from the farther side," from be "by" + geond "yonder" (prep.), from P.Gmc. *jandana.

bezant --- gold coin, c.1200, from O.Fr. besant, from L. byzantius, short for Byzantius nummus "coin of Byzantium."

bezique --- card game, 1861, from Fr. bézigue, of unknown origin.

bezoar --- 1477, from Arabic bazahr, from Pers. pad-zahr "counter-poison," from pad "protecting, guardian, master" + zahr "poison." Originally "antidote," later specifically in reference to a concoction from solid matter found in the stomachs and intestines of ruminants, which was held to have antidotal qualities (1580).

B-girl --- 1936, abbreviation of bar girl, U.S. slang for a woman paid to encourage customers at a bar to buy her drinks.

Bhagavad-Gita --- dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna inserted in Mahabharata, from Skt., lit. "Song of the Sublime One," from Bhaga, a god of wealth, from Skt. bhagah, lit. "allotter, distributor, master, lord," from bhajati "assigns, allots, apportions, enjoys, loves" (related to Avestan baga, O.Pers. baga "master, lord, god") + gita "song," fem. pp. of gayate "sings, calls," from PIE base *ga-/*ge- (cf. Avestan gatha "song," Lith. giedoti "to sing").

bhang --- 1598, from Hindi bhang "narcotic from hemp," from Skt. bhangah "hemp."

b'hoy --- 1846, U.S. colloquial for "spirited lad, young spark," supposedly from the Irish pronunciation of boy.

bi- --- two, twice, etc., from L. bi-, from Old L. dvi- (cognate of Gk. di-, O.E. twi-).

Bianca --- fem. proper name, from It., lit. the fem of bianco "white." A doublet of Fr. Blanche.

bias --- 1530, from M.Fr. biasis "slant, oblique," from O.Prov. biais, possibly from V.L. *(e)bigassius, from Gk. epikarsios "slanting, oblique," from epi- "upon" + karsios "oblique." Transferred sense of "predisposition, prejudice" is from 1572.

bib --- 1580, from v. bibben "to drink" (c.1380), from L. bibere (see imbibe), but impossible to say whether this is because it was worn while drinking or because it "soaked up" spills.

Bible --- early 14c., from Anglo-L. biblia, from M.L./L.L. biblia (neuter plural interpreted as fem. sing.), in phrase biblia sacra "holy books," from Gk. ta biblia to hagia "the holy books," from biblion "paper, scroll," the ordinary word for "book," originally a dim. of byblos "Egyptian papyrus," possibly so called from the name of the Phoenician port from which Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece. The port's name is a Gk. corruption of Phoenician Gebhal (modern Jbeil, Lebanon), said to mean lit. "frontier town" (cf. Heb. gebhul "frontier, boundary," Arabic jabal "mountain"). The Christian scripture was refered to in Gk. as Ta Biblia as early as c.223. Bible replaced O.E. biblioðece "the Scriptures," from Gk. bibliotheke, lit. "book-repository" (from biblion + theke "case, chest, sheath"), used of the Bible by Jerome and the common L. word for it until Biblia began to displace it 9c. Figurative sense of "any authoritative book" is from 1804. Bible Belt first attested 1926, reputedly coined by H.L. Mencken.

bibliography --- 1678, "the writing of books," from Gk. bibliographia "the writing of books," from biblion "papyrus roll" (see bible) + graphos "(something) drawn or written." Sense of "a list of books that form the literature of a subject" is first attested 1869.

bibliomancy --- 1753, "divination by opening a book (especially the Bible) at random," the first verse presenting itself being taken as a prognostication of future events, from Gk. biblion (see Bible) + manteia "divination." Before the Bible, in pagan times, Homer (sortes Homericæ) and Virgil (sortes Virgilianæ) were similarly used.

bibulous --- fond of drink, spongy, 1675, from L. bibulus "drinking readily," from bibere "to drink" (see imbibe).

bicameral --- 1832, from bi- "two" + L.L. camera "chamber" (see camera).

bicarbonate --- 1819, from bi- + carbonate (see carbon).

bicentennial --- 1883, first recorded in Twain's "Life on the Mississippi," from bi- + centennial (q.v.). Earlier was bicentenary (1862).

biceps --- 1634, from L. biceps "having two parts," lit. "two-headed," from bis "double" + -ceps comb. form of caput "head" (see head). Despite the -s it is singular, and there is no such word as bicep.

bicker --- 1297, "a skirmish, fight," bikern, probably from M.Du. bicken "to slash, stab, attack," + -er, M.E. frequentative suffix. Meaning "quarrel" is from 1330.

bicuspid --- 1836, from bi- + L. cuspidem "cusp, point." Originally of valves of the heart; of teeth, from 1873.

bicycle --- 1868, coined from bi- "two" + Gk. kyklos "circle, wheel" (see cycle), on the pattern of tricycle; both the word and the vehicle superseding earlier velocipede. Probably not from Fr., though often said to be. The confusion apparently is because Pierre Lallement, employee of a Fr. carriage works, improved Macmillan's 1839 pedal velocipede in 1865 and took the invention to America. See also penny-farthing. "That ne plus ultra of snobbishness -- bicyclism." [1876]

bid --- merger of two words. Bid farewell is from O.E. biddan "to beg, ask, demand" (class V strong verb, past tense bæd, past participle beden), from P.Gmc. *bithjan (cf. Ger. bitten "to ask"), from PIE base *bhidh- "command, persuade, trust" (cf. Gk. peithein "to persuade," pistis "faith;" L. fidere "to trust," foedus "compact, treaty," O.C.S. beda "need"). A bid at an auction, meanwhile, is from O.E. beodan "offer, proclaim" (class II strong verb; p.t. bead, p.p. boden), from P.Gmc. *biudanan "to stretch out, reach out, offer, present," (cf. Ger. bieten "to offer"), from PIE base *bh(e)udh- "to offer, present" (cf. Skt. bodhati "is awake, is watchful, observes," buddhah "awakened, enlightened;" O.C.S. bljudo "to observe;" Lith. budeti "to be awake;" O.Ir. buide "contentment, thanks").

biddy --- old woman, 1785; meaning "Irish maid-servant" (1861) is Amer.Eng.; both from pet form of common Irish proper name Bridget.

bide --- O.E. bidan "to stay, continue, live, remain," also "to trust, rely" (cognate of O.N. biða, O.Fris. bidia, Goth. beidan "to wait"), apparently from an extended stem of the root of O.E. biddan (see bid), the original sense of which was "to command," and "to trust." Perhaps the sense evolved in prehistoric times through "endure," and "endure a wait," to "to wait." Preserved in Scotland and northern England, replaced elsewhere by abide in all senses except to bide one's time.

bidet --- 1630, from Fr., of unknown etymology. Originally in Fr. "a small horse, a pony," thus "a vessel on a low narrow stand, which can be bestridden for bathing purposes."

Biedermeier --- 1854, from Ger., name of a fictitious writer of stodgy poems (invented as a satire on bourgeois taste); the name generally applied to styles prevalent in Germany 1815-48; also "conventional, bourgeois."

biennial --- 1621, from L. biennium "two-year period," from bi- + annus "year."

bier --- O.E. bær (W.Saxon), ber (Anglian) "handbarrow, litter, bed," from W.Gmc. *bero (O.H.G. bara, O.Fris. bere, M.Du. bare), from base *ber- and thus related to the O.E. verb beran "to bear" (see bear (v.)), making a bier anything used for carrying, only later limited to funerary sense. Since 1600, spelling influenced by Fr. bière, from O.Fr. biere, from Frankish *bera, from the same Gmc. root.

bifocal --- 1888, from bi- + focal (see focus). Conceived by Benjamin Franklin, but called by him double spectacles.

bifurcate --- 1615, from M.L. bifurcatus, from L. bi- + furca, the root of fork.

big --- c.1300, northern England dialect, "powerful, strong," of unknown origin, possibly from a Scand. source (cf. Norwegian dial. bugge "great man"). Meaning "of great size" is c.1386; that of "grown up" is attested from 1552. Sense of "important" is from 1577. Bigass (adj.) is 1940s military slang. Bigwig is from 1781, from the large wigs formerly worn by men of importance. Big band as a musical style is from 1926; Big Bang in astrophysics theory popularized (and possibly coined) by Brit. astronomer Fred Hoyle in a 1950 book. Slang big head "conceit" is first recorded 1850. Big business is 1905; big house "penitentiary" is U.S. underworld slang first attested 1915 (in London, "a workhouse," 1851). In financial journalism, big ticket items so called from 1956.

Big Apple --- New York, 1909 (but popularized by 1970s tourism promotion campaign), apparently from jazz musicians' use of apple for any city, especially a Northern one.

Big Ben --- clock in the Parliament tower in London, generally said to have been named for Sir Benjamin Hall (1802–1867), first Chief Commissioner of Works, under whose supervision the bell was cast.

Big Brother --- apparently benevolent but repressive authority first recorded 1949, from George Orwell's novel "1984."

Big Dipper --- Amer.Eng. name for the seven-star asterism (known in England as Charles' Wain; see Charles) in the constellation Ursa Major, first attested 1869, but certainly older than that. In Anglo-Saxon times, it was O.E. wænes þisl "pole of the wain."

Big Mac --- trademark name (McDonald's Corp.) of a type of hamburger sandwich, patented 1974 but alleged to have been in use from 1957.

bigamy --- c.1250, from O.Fr. bigamie, from L.L. bigamus "twice married," from bi- "double" + Gk. gamos "marrying" (see gamete). "Bigamie is unkinde ðing, On engleis tale, twie-wifing." [c.1250]

bight --- O.E. byht "bend, angle, corner" (related to bow), from P.Gmc. *bukhtis (cf. M.L.G. bucht, Ger. Bucht, Du. bocht). Geological sense of "indentation on a coastline" is from 1481.

bigot --- 1598, from M.Fr. bigot, from O.Fr., supposedly a derogatory name for Normans, the old theory (not universally accepted) being that it springs from their frequent use of O.E. oath bi God. Plausible, since the Eng. were known as goddamns in Joan of Arc's France, and during World War I Americans serving in France were said to be known as les sommobiches (see also son of a bitch). But the earliest Fr. use of the word (12c.) is as the name of a people apparently in southern Gaul. The earliest Eng. sense is of "religious hypocrite," especially a female one, and may be influenced by beguine. Sense extended 1687 to other than religious opinions.

bijou --- 1668, from Fr., from Breton bizou "(jeweled) ring," from bez "finger" (cf. Cornish bisou "finger-ring," 13c.).

bike --- 1882, Amer.Eng., shortened and altered form of bicycle.

bikini --- 1948, from Fr. coinage, 1947, named for U.S. A-bomb test of June 1946 on Bikini, Marshall Islands atoll, locally Pikinni and said to derive from pik "surface" and ni "coconut," but this is uncertain. Various explanations for the swimsuit name have been suggested, none convincingly, the best being an analogy of the explosive force of the bomb and the impact of the bathing suit style on men's libidos (cf. c.1900 British slang assassin "an ornamental bow worn on the female breast," so called because it was very "killing"). "Bikini, ce mot cinglant comme l'explosion même ... correspondant au niveau du vêtement de plage à on antéantissement de la surface vêtue; à une minimisation extrême de la pudeur." [Le Monde, 1947] Variant style trikini (1967), with separate bra cups held on by Velcro, falsely presumes a compound in bi-.

bilateral --- 1775, from bi- + lateral (q.v.).

bilbo --- kind of sword noted for temper and elasticity, 1598, from Bilbao, town in northern Spain where swords were made, in Eng. Bilboa.

Bildungsroman --- 1910, from Ger., from bildung "education" + roman "novel." A novel set in the formative years, or the time of spiritual education, of the main character.

bile --- 1665, from Fr. bile, from L. bilis "fluid secreted by the liver," also one of the four humors (also known as choler), thus "anger, peevishness" (especially as black bile, 1797). Bilious "ill-tempered" first recorded 1561.

bilge --- 1513, "lowest internal part of a ship," also "the foulness which collects there," variant of bulge "ship's hull," also "leather bag," from O.N.Fr. boulge "leather sack," from L.L. bulga "leather sack," apparently from Gaulish bulga.

bilingual --- 1847, from bi- + lingual.

bilk (v.) --- 1651, from the noun (1633), first used as a cribbage term. Origin obscure, it was believed in 17c. to be "a word signifying nothing," perhaps of Arabic origin; but it is rather perhaps a thinned form of balk. Meaning "to defraud" is first recorded 1672.

bill (1) --- written statement, c.1340, from Anglo-L. billa "list," from M.L. bulla "decree, seal, document," in classical L. "bubble, boss, stud, amulet for the neck" (hence "seal;" see bull (2)). Sense of "account, invoice" first recorded 1404; that of "order to pay" (technically bill of exchange) is from 1579; that of "paper money" is from 1670. Meaning "draft of an act of Parliament" is from 1512. The verb meaning "to send someone a bill of charge" is from 1867. Billboard is from 1851.

bill (2) --- bird's beak, O.E., related to bil, a poetic word for "a kind of sword" (especially one with a hooked blade), common Gmc. word for cutting weapons (cf. O.H.G. bihal, O.N. bilda "hatchet," O.S. bil "sword"), from PIE base *bhei- "to cut." Used also in M.E. of beak-like projections of land.

billet --- 1599, "to assign quarters to," earlier "official record or register" (M.E.), from Anglo-Fr. billette "list, schedule," dim. of bille (see bill (1)).

billet-doux --- 1673, "love letter," from Fr., lit. "sweet note," from billet "document, note" (dim. of bille) + doux "sweet," from L. dulcis (see dulcet).

billiards --- 1591, from Fr. billiard, originally the wooden cue stick, from O.Fr. bille "stick of wood," from Gaul. *bilia "tree."

billingsgate --- 1676, the kind of coarse, abusive language once used by women in the Billingsgate fish market on the River Thames below London Bridge (c.1250). "Billingsgate is the market where the fishwomen assemble to purchase fish; and where, in their dealings and disputes they are somewhat apt to leave decency and good manners a little on the left hand." ["Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1811]

billion --- 1690, from Fr. billion (originally byllion in Chuquet's unpublished "Le Triparty en la Science des Nombres", 1484; copied by De la Roche, 1520), from bi- "two" + (m)illion. A million million in Britain and Germany (numeration by groups of sixes), which was the original sense; subsequently altered in Fr. to "a thousand million" (numeration by groups of threes) and picked up in that form in U.S., "due in part to French influence after the Revolutionary War." France then reverted to the original meaning in 1948. British usage is truer to the etymology, but U.S. sense is increasingly common there in technical writing. Billionaire first recorded 1861 in Amer.Eng. The first in the world was likely John D. Rockefeller.

billow --- 1552, perhaps older in dialectal use, from O.N. bylgja "a wave," from P.Gmc. *bulgjan, from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell" (see belly).

billy --- club, 1848, Amer.Eng., originally burglars' slang for "crowbar;" meaning "policeman's club" first recorded 1856, probably from nickname of William, applied to various objects (cf. jack, jimmy, jenny).

bimbo --- 1919, "fellow, chap," from It. variant of bambino "baby," first in Italian-accented theater dialogue. Originally especially "stupid, inconsequential man, contemptible person;" by 1920 the sense of "floozie" had developed (popularized by "Variety" staffer Jack Conway, d.1928). Resurrection during 1980s U.S. sex scandals led to derivatives including dim. bimbette (1990) and male form himbo (1988).

bin --- O.E. binne "manger, crib," from Gaulish, from O.Celt. *benna, akin to Welsh benn "a cart," especially one with a woven wicker body. The same Celtic word seems to be preserved in It. benna "dung cart," Fr. benne "grape-gatherer's creel," Du. benne "large basket," from L.L. benna. Some linguists think there was a parallel Gmc. form to the Celtic one.

binary --- 1460, from L.L. binarius, from bini "two-by-two," from bis "double."

bind --- O.E. bindan "to tie up with bonds" (lit. and fig.), also "to make captive, to cover with dressings and bandages" (class III strong verb; past tense band, pp. bunden), from PIE base *bhendh- "to bind" (see bend). Bindery first recorded 1810, Amer.Eng.

binge --- 1854, "drinking bout," dialectal use of binge "soak" (a wooden vessel), so, by extension, "drink heavily, soak up alcohol." Sense extended c. World War I to include eating as well as drinking.

bingo --- 1936, as a lotto-like game of chance; many theories about its origin, none satisfying; the most likely is bingo! as an exclamation of sudden realization or surprise (attested from 1927). Uncertain connection to the slang word for "brandy" (1699); attested as "liquor" in Amer.Eng., 1861.

binocular --- 1738, "involving both eyes," from Fr. binoculaire, from L. bini "double" + ocularis "of the eye," from oculus "eye." The double-tubed telescopic instrument (1871, short for binocular glass) earlier was called a binocle (1696).

bio- --- from Gk. bio-, comb. form of bios "life, course or way of living" (as opposed to zoe "animal life, organic life"), from PIE base *gweie- "to live" (cf. Skt. jivah "alive, living;" O.E. cwic "alive;" L. vivus "living, alive," vita "life;" M.Pers. zhiwak "alive;" O.C.S. zivo "to live;" Lith. gyvas "living, alive;" O.Ir. bethu "life," bith "age;" Welsh byd "world"). The correct usage is that in biography, but in modern science it has been extended to mean "organic life."

biogenesis --- 1870, "the theory that living organisms can only arise from pre-existing living matter," coined by Eng. biologist T.H. Huxley (1825-95) from Gk. bios "life" (see bio-) + genesis (q.v.).

biography --- 1683, probably from L. biographia, from Gk. bio- "life" (see bio-) + graphia "record, account," from graphein "to write." Biographia was not in classical Gk., though it is attested in later Gk. from c.500. Biopic (1951) is from "biographical picture."

biology --- 1819, from Ger., from Gk. bios "life" (see bio-) + logia "study of." Suggested 1802 by Ger. naturalist G. Reinhold Treviranus and introduced as a scientific term that year in Fr. by Lamarck. Biological clock first recorded 1955. Biodegradable first attested 1961. Biorhythm is from 1960. Biochemistry is 1881; biofeedback is 1970; bioethics is 1971, from V.R. Potter's book of that name.

bionics --- 1959, coined from bi(o)- (see bio-) + (electr)onic. The adj. form bionic is from 1963.

biopsy --- 1895, from Fr. biopsie, coined by Ernest Besnier (1831-1909) from Gk. bi- comb. form of bios "life" (see bio-) + opsis "a sight" (see eye).

biosphere --- 1899, on model of Ger. Biosphäre (E. Seuss, 1875), from bio- (see bio-) + sphere.

bipartisan --- 1909, from bi- + partisan.

biped --- 1646, from L. bipedem "two-footed," from bi- "two" + pedem (nom. pes) "foot" (see foot).

biplane --- 1874, as a theoretical notion; first attested 1908 in reference to the real thing; from bi- + plane.

bipolar --- 1810 with fig. sense of "of double aspect;" 1859 with reference to physiology, from bi- + polar.

birch --- O.E. beorc, from P.Gmc. *berkjon (O.S. birka, O.N. börk, Sw. björk, Du. berk, Ger. Birke), from PIE *bhergo (cf. Ossetian barz, O.C.S. breza, Lith. berzas, Skt. bhurjah, L. farnus, fraxinus "mountain ash"), from base *bhereg- "to gleam, white." Meaning "bunch of birch twigs used for flogging" (1648) led to verb meaning "to flog" (1830). Birch beer is 1883, Amer.Eng.

bird (1) --- O.E. bridd, originally "young bird" (the usual O.E. for "bird" being fugol), of uncertain origin with no cognates in any other Gmc. language. The suggestion that it is somehow connected by umlaut to brood and breed is rejected by OED as "quite inadmissible." Metathesis of -r- and -i- occurred 15c. Fig. sense of "secret source of information" is from 1546. Slang meaning "middle finger held up in a rude gesture" is from 1860s expression give the big bird "to hiss someone like a goose," kept alive in vaudeville slang with sense of "to greet someone with boos, hisses, and catcalls" (1922), transferred 1960s to the "up yours" hand gesture (the rigid finger representing the hypothetical object to be inserted) on notion of defiance and contempt. Gesture itself seems to be much older (the human anatomy section of a 12c. Latin bestiary in Cambridge describes the middle finger as that "by means of which the pursuit of dishonour is indicated"). Bird-brain (1943) is suggestive of flightiness. Bird-cage is from 1490. Bird's-eye view is from 1762. For the birds recorded from 1944, supposedly in allusion to birds eating from droppings of horses and cattle. "A byrde yn honde ys better than three yn the wode." [c.1530]

bird (2) --- maiden, young girl, c.1300, confused with burd (q.v.), but felt by later writers as a fig. use of bird (1). Modern slang meaning "young woman" is from 1915, and probably arose independent of the older word.

birdie --- golf slang for "play a hole one under par," 1956, earlier bird (1911), from bird (1) in Amer.Eng. slang sense of "exceptionally clever or accomplished person or thing" (1839).

biretta --- square cap worn by Catholic clergy, 1598, from It. beretta, from L.L. birrus, birrum "large cloak with hood, perhaps of Gaulish origin, or from Gk. pyrros "flame-colored, yellow."