Etymograph

English

bima

Bima comes from Hebrew בִּימָה, from Ancient Greek βῆμα ‘a step, pace, footfall, gait’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₂-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeh₂-1‘to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷéh₂mn̥1‘step’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷā́mə1reconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβῆμα2‘a step, pace, footfall, gait’
  5. Hebrew1880s–presentבִּימָה3bîmâ
  6. Englishtodaybima3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βῆμα
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Hebrew בימה
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English bima

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷeh₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βῆμα‘to step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gʷéh₂mn̥Wiktionary, Ancient Greek βῆμα‘step’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*gʷā́məWiktionary, Ancient Greek βῆμαreconstructed
  4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEβῆμαWiktionary, Hebrew בימה‘a step, pace, footfall, gait’
  5. Hebrew1880s–presentבִּימָהWiktionary, English bimabîmâ
  6. EnglishtodaybimaWiktionary, English bima

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *gʷeh₂- ‘to step’

acrobat, gotch, 4 more

Today it means

noun The raised platform in the front of a synagogue where the Torah is read on a podium.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bima”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek βῆμα, Hebrew בימה. 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 *gʷeh₂- / bima

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