bite English · revision 6040

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1000|origins=ine-pro *bʰeyd-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /baɪt/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English biten, [[inh|ang|bītan|t=to pierce or cut with the teeth]] (past tense bāt, biton, past participle biten),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) from [[gem-pro|*bītaną]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) which is also the source of [[osx|bītan]], [[nl|bijten]], [[goh|bīzan]] (German beißen), [[non|bíta]] and [[got|𐌱𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌰𐌽|tr=beitan]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) Outside Germanic it is cognate with [[la|findere|t=to cleave, split]] and [[sa|भिनद्मि|tr=bhinádmi|t=I split]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) from PIE [[ine-pro|*bʰeyd-|t=to split]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) The noun is late Old English [[m|ang|bite]], from [[gem-pro|*bitiz]], and also formed again from the verb.^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To cut into, pierce or nip with the teeth: before 1000 in the OED,^(OED 1989) about 725 in ''Beowulf'' in Barnhart.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Word Origins notes that the ancestor of bite also gave [[bit]] and [[bitter]] and probably meant to split or cleave.^(Cresswell 2021) A mouthful or morsel of food is from about 1200,^(Etymonline) a mark left by biting from the early 15th century,^(Etymonline) and the catch of one mechanical part on another by 1865.^(Etymonline) Figurative biting, of cold, words or pain, is from about 1200.^(OED 1989) Fish taking the bait gave the sense of being taken in by a trick.^(AHD) ''To bite one's lip'' is from the early 14th century and ''to bite one's tongue'' by the 1590s;^(Etymonline) ''to bite the dust'' is in Smollett in 1750, after earlier ''bite the ground'' (1670s) and ''lick the dust'' (late 14th century).^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) ''To bite off more than one can chew'' (about 1880) is American slang from plug tobacco.^(Etymonline) ''To bite the bullet'' is said to come from patients biting a bullet during surgery,^(Etymonline) though Word Origins finds no evidence that this was done.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – Old English bītan, in ''Beowulf''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – a mouthful of food.^(Etymonline)

+ * early 14th century – to bite one's lip.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1590s – to bite one's tongue.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1750 – to bite the dust, in Smollett.^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1865 – the hold of one mechanical part on another.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1880 – to bite off more than one can chew.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To cut, grip or tear with the [[tooth|alt=teeth]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To pierce the skin with teeth, fangs or [[sting|alt=stings]], as animals and insects do.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To have a sharp or stinging effect, as cold or acid does.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of a fish, to take the [[bait]]; figuratively, to be taken in by a trick.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To take hold or grip, as a wheel on a road.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An act of biting, or a wound made by biting.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A mouthful, or a small meal: ''a bite to eat''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A sharp or [[pungent]] quality.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[bitable]]

+ * [[biter]]

+ * [[backbite]]

+ * [[biting]]

+ * [[crib-biting]]

+ * [[overbite]]

+ * [[snakebite]]

+ * [[underbite]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[bitter]]

+ * [[beetle]]

+ * [[bit]]

+ * [[bait]]

+ * [[fission]]

+ * [[fissure]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}