beg English · revision 13212

− It is Middle English beggen, a word of uncertain origin.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It may be from the rare Old English bedecian, to beg, from the Germanic base of [[bid]] (compare Gothic bidagwa, a beggar),^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) or from Anglo-French begger, a back-formation from Old French begart (see [[beggar]]), ultimately from [[Beguine]], which the OED considers the most likely source.^(Etymonline) Barnhart thinks it probably related to or formed from beggar, and notes that Anglo-French begger is recorded later than the English verb.^(Barnhart 1988) The Old English word for beg was wædlian, from wædl, poverty.^(Etymonline)