Etymograph

English

beet

Beet comes from Middle English bete, and goes back to Latin bēta.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbēta1
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150bēte1
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bete1
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1961beet1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English beet
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “In general, beets, carrots, and turnips are all of…”.

Earlier history not traced here. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbētaWiktionary, English beet
  2. Old Englishc. 450–1150bēteWiktionary, English beet
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500beteWiktionary, English beet
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1961beetWiktionary, English beet. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs: “In general, beets, carrots, and turnips are all of…”

Linked words

through Latin bēta

betaine, 1 more

Today it means

noun Beta vulgaris, a plant with a swollen root which is eaten or used to make sugar.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “beet”. 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 / Latin bēta / beet

Shirt and support for this word