"B" Word Origins

bigmouth

Origin · 1800

A straightforward combination of big and mouth, used since the 19th century for someone who can't keep quiet.

bigness

Origin

From Middle English bignesse (“size”), equivalent to big + -ness.

bigot

French

Borrowed from French bigot, an old insult for a religious hypocrite. Its ultimate origin is disputed, though one theory ties it to Normans swearing "by God" (Middle English bi God); another links it to Albi, a French town linked to religious sectarianism.

bigoted

Origin

Formed from bigot plus the adjective-forming suffix -ed.

bigotness

Origin

From bigot + -ness.

bigotry

French

From French bigoterie, built on bigot plus the noun suffix -ry.

bigtime

Origin

A compound of big and time, originally show-business slang for the top level of a profession.

bigwig

Origin · 1730

Coined in the 1730s from big + wig, playing on the fact that important English men of the era wore large, elaborate wigs as a sign of status.

Bihar

Sanskrit

From Hindi बिहार (bihār), tracing back to Sanskrit vihāra, meaning "temple" or "monastery" — a nod to the region's ancient Buddhist monasteries.

Bihari

Hindi

From Hindi बिहारी (bihārī), derived from the place name Bihar.

bijou

French

Borrowed directly from French bijou, meaning "jewel."

bike

Origin · 1880

A clipped form of bicycle, first recorded in the 1880s.

biker

Origin

Formed from bike plus the suffix -er.

bikini

Origin · 1946

Named after Bikini Atoll, where the US tested nuclear weapons in 1946 — the swimsuit's designer reportedly hoped it would cause a similar sensation.

Bilal

Arabic

From Arabic بِلَال (bilāl), notably borne by Bilal ibn Rabah, an early and revered figure in Islamic history.

bilateral

Latin

From bi- ("two") plus lateral ("relating to a side").

Bilbao

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish Bilbao, itself of Basque origin.

Bilbo

Spanish

Named after Bilbao, the Spanish city famous for producing this style of blade.

bile

Latin

From Middle French bile, from Latin bīlis. It partly replaced the native English word gall, which survives in the phrase "gall bladder."

bilge

Origin

Likely a variant of bulge, tied to the curved shape of a ship's lower hull.

bilgewater

Origin

From bilge + water.

bilingual

Latin

From Latin bilinguis, from bi- ("two") + lingua ("tongue, language").

bilious

Origin

From French bilieux, from Latin bīliōsus (“full of bile”), from bīlis (“bile”) + -ōsus (“full of”).

bilk

Origin

Uncertain; perhaps a variant form of balk.

bill

Medieval Latin

From Middle English bille, via Anglo-Norman from Medieval Latin bulla, meaning "sealed document" — the same root that gives us "bull" as in "papal bull."

billboard

Origin

From bill (a posted public notice) plus board.

billet

Latin

From Middle English bylet, via Anglo-Norman billette ("list, schedule"), ultimately from Latin bulla ("document").

billfish

Origin

From bill + fish.

billfold

Origin

From bill + fold.

billiard

Old French

From French billard, from Old French bille ("log, tree trunk"), referring originally to the wooden cue stick.

billiards

Old French

From French billard, from Old French bille ("log, tree trunk"), naming the cue used to strike the balls.

Billie

Origin

From Bill plus the diminutive suffix -ie.

billing

Origin

From bill, referring to invoices and, separately, to posted announcements.

billion

French

From French billion, formed from bi- ("two") plus -illion. Older British usage once meant a million million (10¹²), but the "thousand million" meaning is now standard worldwide.

billionaire

Origin

Formed from billion plus the suffix -aire, modeled on millionaire.

billon

Origin

Borrowed from French billon, from Old French bille (“stick of wood”).

billy

Origin

Of uncertain origin, possibly related to bully in the old sense of "companion, mate."

Biloxi

French

From a French rendering of a Biloxi word meaning roughly "first people."

bim

Origin

A shortened, informal form connected to bimbo, though now used mainly as slang for a Barbadian.

bimbo

Italian · 1919

From Italian bimbo ("baby, small child"), a variant of bambino. It entered American slang in 1919 meaning "a foolish man," then shifted by the 1920s to describe an attractive but unintelligent woman, popularized by Variety editor Jack Conway.

bimonthly

Latin

From the Latin prefix bi- 'two' plus monthly. The prefix can mean either 'every two' or 'twice', which is the source of the ambiguity.

bin

Old English

From Middle English bynne, from Old English binn ("crib, manger"), possibly borrowed from a Celtic word for a cart or basket.

binary

Late Latin

From Late Latin bīnārius ("consisting of two"), from Latin bīnī ("two by two, a pair").

bind

Old English

From Old English bindan, going back to a very old Indo-European root meaning "to tie" — the same root gives us "bandana" and "band."

binder

Middle English

From Middle English byndere, simply "bind" plus the agent suffix "-er" — someone or something that binds.

binding

Origin

From the verb "bind" plus "-ing" — literally, the act or result of binding something.

bindle

Origin

Unknown; compare Old English bindele (“a binding, a tying”) from bindan (“to bind”), and bundle. Additionally, compare mister from master.

bing

Middle English

From Middle English bing, ultimately from Old Norse bingr meaning a heap or pile of grain — the Microsoft search engine name is unrelated and simply chosen for being short and memorable.