bait

Pronunciation

• IPA: /beɪt/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bait, borrowed from Old Norse beita (“to cause to bite, hunt; food, bait”),^[2][3][4][5] the causative of bíta (“to bite”), from Proto-Germanic *baitjaną,^[3][2] cognate with Old English bǣtan (“to cause to bite”) and Old High German beizen,^[3][5] from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”) (see bite).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To torment or persecute: about 1200 in Etymonline;^[3] to attack or torment with a dog about 1300, in Havelok the Dane, in Barnhart.^[2] The noun, food used to entice prey, is from about 1300.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Setting dogs on a chained animal, as in bear-baiting, was a popular medieval entertainment;^[3][6] the figurative sense of tormenting a person is in fact attested earlier than the literal one.^[3] The figurative noun, an enticement, is from about 1400.^[3] From the 14th century bait also meant to feed horses on a journey, and a stop for rest and food.^[4][7] In northern English dialect it still means food, especially a packed lunch.^[8][9]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – to torment.^[3]
• c. 1300 – to set dogs on; bait for prey.^[2]
• c. 1400 – an enticement.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Food put on a hook or in a trap to attract fish or animals.
2. Something that entices; a lure or temptation.
3. (northern England) Food, especially a packed lunch.

Verb

1. To put bait on a hook or in a trap.
2. To torment or tease, especially with insults: bait the referee.
3. To set dogs on a chained animal for sport.

Word family

• baiter
• baitfish
• crowbait
• rebait
• unbait
• whitebait
• jailbait
• redbait

Related words

• bite
• abet
• bate

Usage notes

Etymonline quotes a satirical definition: bait is one animal impaled on a hook to torture a second for the amusement of a third.^[3]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)