Etymograph

English

bes

Bes comes from Latin bes ‘two-thirds, or a two-thirds part of any unit’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwóh₁1‘two’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*duō1‘two’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*duō2‘two’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbes3‘two-thirds, or a two-thirds part of any unit’derivative of *duō
  5. Englishtodaybes3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin duo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin bes
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English bes

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*dwóh₁Wiktionary, Latin duo‘two’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*duōWiktionary, Latin duo‘two’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*duōWiktionary, Latin bes‘two’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbesWiktionary, English bes‘two-thirds, or a two-thirds part of any unit’derivative of *duō
  5. EnglishtodaybesWiktionary, English bes

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’

two, doubt, vice, defeat, twin, binary, vicious, diplomacy, twain, bis, disparate, biceps, twig, binocular, betwixt, 20 more

through Proto-Italic *duō ‘two’

duet, duality, 1 more

through Latin *duō ‘two’

dual, duo, dubious, deuce, 1 more

Today it means

noun A bronze coin of the Roman Republic, worth two thirds of an as.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bes”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin duo, Latin bes. 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 *dwóh₁ / bes

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