"B" Word Origins

barrow

Old English

From Old English beorg ("hill, mound, burial place"), related to the modern word "berg" as in "iceberg."

barrowful

Origin

From barrow + -ful.

Barry

French

The heraldic term comes from French barre ("bar"); the common given name Barry is a separate word, anglicized from Irish Barra.

bars

Origin

Transliteration of the Russian БАРС (BARS), abbreviation for Беспрессовая Аппаратура высокого давления (press-free high-pressure setup).

Barstow

Middle English

From Middle English Bayrestowe, derived from Old English beġer (“berry”) + stōw (“place, location”).

bartender

Origin

Formed from bar plus tender, in the sense of "one who tends or looks after" something.

bartending

Origin

Formed from bar plus tending, on the model of bartender.

barter

Old French

From Old French barater, entering English in the late Middle Ages.

Bartholomew

Latin

From Aramaic bar tolmai, meaning "son of Talmai," via Greek and Latin.

bartholow

Origin

From Bartholomew.

Bartlett

Origin · 1800

Named after Enoch Bartlett of Massachusetts, who popularized the variety in the early 1800s.

Bartok

Origin

Borrowed from Hungarian Bartók.

Barton

Old English

From Old English bere ("barley") plus tūn ("enclosure"), literally meaning a barley farmstead.

Bartowski

Origin

Borrowed from Polish Bartowski.

Baruch

Hebrew

From Hebrew barukh, meaning "blessed".

baryta

Origin

From New Latin baryta, from 18c. Latinization of French barote, 1782 coinage from Ancient Greek βαρύτης (barútēs, “heaviness”), from βαρύς (barús) + -της (-tēs).

Bas

French

Various origins: * Borrowed from Cebuano Bas, from bas (“sand”). * Borrowed from Catalan Bas, a habitational surname from a place in Catalonia. * Borrowed from French Bas, from bas (“low”). * Borrowed from Basque Bas, a topographic surname from baso (“wood”). * Borrowed from Slovene Baš, a short form of the personal name Sebastjan.

basal

Origin

From base + the adjective-forming suffix -al.

basalt

Latin

From Latin basaltes, likely a scribal error for basanites, from Greek basanos, "touchstone" — itself borrowed from an Egyptian word for a hard stone.

base

Latin

From Old French base, from Latin basis, from Greek basis, "step" or "foundation." A doublet of basis and bass.

baseball

Origin

From base + ball, referring to the four bases players run between.

baseboard

Origin

From base + board.

baseborn

Origin

From base + born.

based

Origin · 2010

The past tense of the verb base, from base + -ed. The internet slang sense (confidently unapologetic) developed in the 2010s from earlier hip-hop slang.

baseless

Origin

From base + -less, "without a base."

baseline

Origin

From base + line, originally a surveying term for a reference line used in measurement.

baseman

Origin

From base + man.

bash

Middle English

From Middle English, probably from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse baska, "to strike" — the same root family as Swedish basa, "to whip."

basha

Origin

Borrowed from Assamese, adopted into British military slang.

basheer

Origin

From Arabic بَشِير (bašīr, “bringer of good news”)

basher

Origin

From bash + the agent suffix -er.

bashful

Origin · 1500

Formed in the 1500s by clipping abashed and adding -ful, "full of."

bashfulness

Origin

From bashful + -ness.

Bashir

Arabic

From Arabic bashir, meaning "one who brings good news".

basic

Origin

From base + the adjective suffix -ic.

basically

Origin

From basic + the adverb suffix -ally.

basil

Old French

From Old French basile, ultimately from Greek basilikon, "royal," from basileus, "king" — the herb was seen as a "kingly" plant.

basilar

Origin

Borrowing from New Latin basilāris, irregularly from basis (“a pedestal, foot, base”) + -āris (“-ar, -ary”, adjectival suffix); or from French basilaire, from base (“base, basis”) + -aire (“-ar, -ary”, adjectival suffix), in the pattern of cimbalaire (“cymbal-shaped”).

basilica

Latin

From Latin basilica, from Greek basilike (stoa), "royal (hall)," from basileus, "king."

basin

Vulgar Latin

From Old French bacin, from Vulgar Latin baccinum, "wide bowl."

basis

Latin

From Latin basis, from Greek basis, "step" or "foundation" — a doublet of base.

bask

Middle English

From Middle English basken, from Old Norse baðask, "to bathe oneself" — a doublet of bathe.

basket

Late Latin

From Anglo-Norman basket, of uncertain origin, possibly linked to Late Latin bascauda, "kettle" or "vessel."

basketball

Origin

From basket + ball, since the game was originally played by throwing a ball into peach baskets.

Basque

Latin

From French basque, from Gascon Occitan basc, from Latin Vasco/Vascones, the name of the ancient people of that region.

Basra

Origin

From Ottoman Turkish بصره (Basra) and Arabic البَصْرَة (al-Baṣra), from ال (al-, “the, land of the”) + بَصْرَة (baṣra, “overseer”).

bass

Old English

The musical sense is a respelling of base, influenced by Italian basso, "low." The fish name is unrelated, from Old English.

basset

French

From French "basset," meaning "rather low," referring to the dog's short legs.