"B" Word Origins

An anglicized form of Irish Ó Broin, "descendant of Bran," from bran ("raven").

A habitational surname from Old English byrum ("at the byre or cattleshed").

From by- + stander — literally "one who stands by" and watches.

Borrowed from Korean 변 (byeon).

From Middle English byword, byworde (“proverb”), from Old English bīword, bīwyrd, bīwyrde (“proverb, household word", also "adverb”), from Proto-West Germanic *bīwurdī, equivalent to by- + word. Compare Latin proverbium, which byword may possibly be a translation of. Cognate with Old High German pīwurti (“proverb”). Compare also Old English bīspel (“proverb, example”), bīcwide (“byword, proverb, tale, fable”), Dutch bijwoord (“adverb”).

From Late Latin bȳzantīnus, from Byzantium — the figurative "overly complicated" sense comes from the reputation of the Byzantine imperial court for intrigue and complex politics.

From Ancient Greek Byzantion, named after its legendary founder Byzas.