Etymograph

English

bebathe

Bebathe comes from Old English bebaþian ‘to bathe, wash’, from Proto-Germanic *baþą ‘bath’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁- ‘to foment, warm’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₁-1‘to foment, warm’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₁-tó-s1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baþą2‘bath’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baþōną3‘to bathe’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*baþōn4‘to bathe’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150baþian5‘to bathe’
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150bebaþian6‘to bathe, wash’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*bebathen6reconstructed
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1880bebathe6

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *baþą, which cites Kroonen
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *baþōną
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *baþōn
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Old English baþian
  5. 5 Wiktionary, Old English bebaþian
  6. 6 Wiktionary, English bebathe
  7. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1880, Richard Hakluyt, Edward John Payne: “[…] and everyone with a dagger in their hand,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₁-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *baþą, which cites Kroonen‘to foment, warm’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰh₁-tó-sWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *baþą, which cites Kroonenreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baþąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *baþōną‘bath’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*baþōnąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *baþōn‘to bathe’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*baþōnWiktionary, Old English baþian‘to bathe’reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150baþianWiktionary, Old English bebaþian‘to bathe’
  7. Old Englishc. 450–1150bebaþianWiktionary, English bebathe‘to bathe, wash’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*bebathenWiktionary, English bebathereconstructed
  9. Englishearliest quotation 1880bebatheWiktionary, English bebathe. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1880, Richard Hakluyt, Edward John Payne: “[…] and everyone with a dagger in their hand,…”

Formed from be- ‘all over, completely’ + bathe

Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi ‘at, near’

Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi

Proto-Germanic *bi ‘near, by’

Proto-Germanic *bi-

Proto-West Germanic *bi-

English be-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁- ‘to warm’

Proto-Germanic *baþōną ‘to bathe’

Proto-West Germanic *baþōn ‘to bathe’

Old English baþian ‘to bathe, wash’

Middle English bathen ‘to bath or wash’

English bathe

The story

From Middle English *bebathen (attested as bebathed), from Old English bebaþian, bibaþian (‘to bathe, wash’), equivalent to be- (‘all over, completely’) + bathe.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁- ‘to foment, warm’

bed, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *baþą ‘bath’

bath

through Old English baþian ‘to bathe’

bathing, 1 more

Today it means

verb To bathe all over; bathe completely; suffuse.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bebathe”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *baþą, Proto-Germanic *baþōną, Proto-West Germanic *baþōn, Old English baþian, Old English bebaþian. 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 *bʰeh₁- / bebathe

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