Etymograph

English

bitch

Bitch comes from Old English biċċe ‘female dog’, from Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ ‘female dog’, from *bikjaną ‘to thrust, attack’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bikjaną1‘to attack, stab, thrust’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bikjǭ2‘female dog’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bikkjā2reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150biċċe2‘bitch, female dog’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500biche2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1638bitch2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English bitch
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1638, Democritus Junior pseudonym; Robert Burt, Fear: “He cals her on a ſudden, all to naught;…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bikjanąWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ‘to attack, stab, thrust’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bikjǭWiktionary, English bitch‘female dog’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bikkjāWiktionary, English bitchreconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150biċċeWiktionary, English bitch‘bitch, female dog’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bicheWiktionary, English bitch
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1638bitchWiktionary, English bitch. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1638, Democritus Junior pseudonym; Robert Burt, Fear: “He cals her on a ſudden, all to naught;…”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with bitch, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- ‘to smash, break’

  • back ← bak ← bæc ← *bak ← *baką
  • bank ← banke ← banque ← banca ← *banki
  • beach ← bache ← beċe ← *baki ← *bakiz
  • baker ← bakere ← bæcere ← *bakārī ← *bakārijaz
  • bench ← benċ ← *banki ← *bankiz
  • banquet ← banket ← banchetto ← banco ← bank
  • baxter ← bakestere ← bæcestre ← bæcere ← *bakārī
  • batch ← bache ← bæċ ← *baki ← *bakiz
  • petite ← petit ← petit ← *pittus ← *biggos
  • banco ← bank ← *banki ← *bankiz
  • petit ← *pittus ← *biggos ← *bʰég-ko-s
  • banque ← banca ← bank ← *banki ← *bankiz

13 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

noun A female dog or other canine, particularly a recent mother.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bitch”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ. 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 *bikjaną / bitch