beast (English)
Where does "beast" come from?
The English adjective 'beast' traces its history through Middle English 'beeste'[1], which came from Old French 'beste'[1][4]. The Old French term derives from Latin 'bēstia', meaning 'animal, beast'[1].
Open questions
- The ultimate origin of Latin bestia is unknown, though a Proto-Indo-European preform has been proposed. [2]
Full etymology tree
- beast (English), 'great; excellent; powerful'
- inherited beeste (Middle English), 'An animal or creature (life in the kingdom Animalia, sometimes including mankind):'
- borrowed beste (Old French), 'beast, animal'
- borrowed bestia (Latin), 'a beast'
- inherited *dʰwēstiā (Proto-Indo-European)
- borrowed bestia (Latin), 'a beast'
- borrowed beste (Old French), 'beast, animal'
- inherited beeste (Middle English), 'An animal or creature (life in the kingdom Animalia, sometimes including mankind):'
Ancestors
- beeste (Middle English)
- beste (Old French)
- bestia (Latin)
Cognates and doublets
- bête (French)
Sources
- beast (English) - Wiktionary
- bestia (Latin) - Wiktionary
- beste (Old French) - Wiktionary
- beeste (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- dʰwes- (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris