be

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English been,^[2][3][4] inherited from Old English bēon (“to be, exist, come to be, become, happen”),^[5][2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *beuną,^[1] from Proto-Indo-European *bheuə- (“to be, exist, grow”).^[3][5] Etymonline gives the Germanic form as *biju- (“I am, I will be”).^[5] The Old English verb is cognate with Old Saxon bium (“I am”), Old High German bim and German bin (“am”),^[2][6][7] with Lithuanian būti (“to be”), Old Irish buith (“to be”) and Welsh bod (“to be”),^[2] and further with Latin fuī (“I have been”) and fīō (“I become”),^[6][7][4] and Ancient Greek φύω (phúō, “to bring forth, make grow”).^[7][6][4] Hoad and Ayto note that the base first meant "grow", and that its sense "become" led to its use as part of the verb "to be", especially for the future.^[7][8]

The full set of forms of the modern verb comes from several Indo-European bases, three in West Germanic in general and perhaps four in English.^[9][10][11] Am and is go back to Proto-Indo-European *es-, the verb "be" of most Indo-European languages, seen in sum and est;^[8][7][11] the past forms was and were go back to Proto-Indo-European *wes- (“to dwell, remain”), seen in Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌽 (wisan, “to remain, continue”);^[8][7][10] and are and the archaic art come from a Germanic base of unknown origin.^{[8][7][10][11]} Roger Lass, quoted by Etymonline, calls the verb "a collection of semantically related paradigm fragments", and Weekley "an accidental conglomeration from the different Old English dial[ect]s".^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To exist, to come to be, to become: Old English bēon is first recorded before 830 in the Vespasian Psalter, according to Barnhart, and the Middle English form been about 1200.^[2] The OED's earliest senses, all from Old English, are to exist or live, and to come about, happen or take place.^[9] Merriam-Webster dates the verb to before the 12th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

In Old English bēon had no past tense of its own, and through its sense "come to be" it often served as the future of the verb represented by am and was.^[2][7][8] In the 13th century be and been gradually took over the infinitive, the participles and the imperative of that verb.^[2] The plurals we beth, ye ben, they be became standard Middle English after 1250 and for a time spread to the singular (I be, thou beest), but forms of are spread from the north and in the 16th century began to replace them in the standard language.^[2] Old English used sind(on) for the present plural, which died out in the 12th century.^[8] Plural be survives in archaic use and in dialect,^[7][10] and in Shetland be was used for have.^[12]

Among the senses, "to take a given time" is recorded from about 1175 in the Ormulum, "to be the case" in so be that and be it that from about 1275, and the question what is to you?, what ails you, from about 1300 to 1532.^[9] The old sense "to befall" now survives only in archaic or literary wishes and exclamations.^[9] Etymonline calls it the most irregular verb in Modern English and the most common, with eight different forms.^[5]

Timeline

• before 830 – Old English bēon, to be, exist, come to be, in the Vespasian Psalter.^[2]
• c. 1175 – with a period of time, to take, occupy (a time), in the Ormulum.^[9]
• c. 1200 – Middle English been.^[2]
• 13th century – be and been take over the infinitive, participles and imperative.^[2]
• after 1250 – plural we beth, ye ben, they be.^[2]
• c. 1275 – to be the case, in so be that, be it that.^[9]
• c. 1300 – what is to you?, what ails you (obsolete by 1532).^[9]
• 16th century – plural are begins to replace be in standard English.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To exist or live; to have reality: I think, therefore I am.^[13][14][9]
2. To occupy a place or position: The keys are on the shelf.^[14][9]
3. To remain as one is, undisturbed: Leave the cat be.^[14]
4. To take place; to occur: The match was on Saturday.^[13][14]
5. (in perfect tenses) To go or come; to visit: Have you ever been to Lisbon?^[13][14]
6. As a copula, linking a subject to its identity, quality or class: Her brother is a nurse.^[14][13]
7. As an auxiliary verb with a past participle, forming the passive voice: The bridge was built in 1890.^[14]
8. As an auxiliary with a present participle, expressing continuing action: They are reading.^[14]
9. As an auxiliary with an infinitive, expressing intention, obligation or future action: We are to meet at noon.^[14]

Word family

• wannabe
• beware
• maybe
• being

Related words

• am
• is
• are
• was
• were
• booth
• bower
• byre
• build
• bylaw
• future
• physical
• fiat

Usage notes

Traditional grammar requires the nominative pronoun after be (It is I, That must be they), a rule that even literate speakers have found hard to keep.^[14][1] In Irish English be is common in progressive and habitual constructions, also with a form of do.^[15] In British urban black speech be is recorded for are.^[16]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ 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)
13. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
15. ^ Dolan, Terence Patrick (2004), A Dictionary of Hiberno-English: The Irish Use of English, 2nd ed., Dublin: Gill & Macmillan
16. ^ Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge