English
bego
Bego comes from Old English begān ‘to go over, traverse, get to, come by, fall…’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *bi ‘by, at’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bi1‘by, at’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150begān1‘to go over, traverse, get to, come by, fall into, go to, visit, care for, cultivate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500begon1
- Englishearliest quotation 1485bego1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English bego
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: “Thy prysemen ar sore begone and put undir, for…”.
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*biWiktionary, English bego‘by, at’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150begānWiktionary, English bego‘to go over, traverse, get to, come by, fall into, go to, visit, care for, cultivate’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500begonWiktionary, English bego
- Englishearliest quotation 1485begoWiktionary, English bego. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte Darthur: “Thy prysemen ar sore begone and put undir, for…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁éps
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁épi ‘on, at’
through Proto-Germanic *bi ‘by, at’
Today it means
verb To go about; encompass; surround; beset, surround with hostile intent; to overrun.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “bego”. 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-Germanic *bi / bego