Etymograph

English

betimes

Betimes comes from Old English bī ‘about (concerning)’, from Proto-West Germanic *bī ‘by, at’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁epi1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bi1‘by, at’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bī1‘by, at’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150bī1‘about (concerning)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500by2as bi
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500betymes2
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611betimes2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English by
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English betimes
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Behold, as wilde asses in the desart, goe they…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁epiWiktionary, Middle English byreconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*biWiktionary, Middle English by‘by, at’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bīWiktionary, Middle English by‘by, at’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150bīWiktionary, Middle English by‘about (concerning)’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500byWiktionary, English betimesas bi
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500betymesWiktionary, English betimes
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1611betimesWiktionary, English betimes. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Behold, as wilde asses in the desart, goe they…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi

oblige, beset, oblate, 5 more

through Old English bī ‘about (concerning)’

bye

through Middle English by

by

Today it means

adv In good season or time; early, especially in the morning; seasonably.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “betimes”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Middle English by. 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 *h₁epi / betimes

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