Etymograph

English

baby

Baby comes from Middle English babe ‘babe, baby’, from Old English *baba ‘a male child’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰā-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bō-redup.1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*babô1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*babō1reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150*baba1‘a male child’reconstructed
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500babe1‘babe’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500baby1diminutive form of babe
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1850baby1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English baby
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1850, [Alfred, Canto XLIV: “The baby new to earth and sky, ⁠What time…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰā-Wiktionary, English babyreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bō-redup.Wiktionary, English babyreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*babôWiktionary, English babyreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*babōWiktionary, English babyreconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150*babaWiktionary, English baby‘a male child’reconstructed
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500babeWiktionary, English baby‘babe’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500babyWiktionary, English babydiminutive form of babe
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1850babyWiktionary, English baby. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1850, [Alfred, Canto XLIV: “The baby new to earth and sky, ⁠What time…”

The story

Perhaps ultimately imitative of baby talk (compare babble).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with baby, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-

  • boy ← boy//boye ← *bōia ← *bōjō ← *bōjô
  • boss ← baas ← baes ← *baso ← *baswō
  • bull ← boul ← bouler ← bôlen ← *bō-

through Middle English babe ‘babe, baby’

Explore everything descended from *bʰā- →

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Today it means

noun A very young human, particularly from birth to a couple of years old or until walking is fully mastered.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “baby”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰā- / baby