Etymograph

English

bove

Bove may come from Middle English bove.

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bove1uncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1590bove1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English bove
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto III: “Her Sea-god syre she dearely did perswade, T'endow her…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500boveWiktionary, English boveuncertain
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1590boveWiktionary, English bove. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book III, Canto III: “Her Sea-god syre she dearely did perswade, T'endow her…”

Today it means

prep Above.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bove”. 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 / Middle English bove / bove