An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/bieten

by Friedrich Kluge

bieten, verb, ‘to offer, make a bid,’ from Middle High German bieten, Old High German biotan, ‘to offer, present, command’ (similar meanings are united in the Middle High German word for befehlen); Anglo-Saxon beódan, ‘to announce, offer’; English bid combines the meanings of German bieten and bitten. Gothic anabiudan, ‘to command, arrange,’ faúrbiudan, ‘to forbid’ (Old High German farbiotan, Middle High German verbieten, Anglo-Saxon forbeódan, English forbid). Gothic biudan, as well as the whole of this class, points to a pre-Teutonic root bhudh; Greek πυθ (according to the well-known rule for φυθ) in πυνθάνομαι, πυθέσθαι ‘to ask, demand, learn by asking, hear,’ approaches one of the meanings of the Teutonic verb; the latter has an active signification ‘to publish, communicate,’ while the Greek middle verb means ‘to know by report, obtain information.’ With the sensuous meaning of High German bieten is connected the Old Indian root budh (for bhudh), ‘to make a present to one’; yet it most frequently means ‘to be watchful, astir,’ then ‘to observe, notice’; and with this is associated Old Bulgarian bŭděti, Lithuanian buděti, ‘to awake’; Lithuanian budrùs, ‘watchful’; also Lithuanian baústi, ‘to chastise,’ and Old Irish buide, ‘thanks.’ It is a primary Aryan verbal stem with a great variety of meanings, the chief of which are ‘to present (make a present to one) — to enjoin (to command, communicate) — to be active, awake.’ To the same stem belongs an Old Teutonic word for ‘table, dish’ (both conceived as the dispensers of food?), which has been mentioned under Beute (Gothic biuþs, Anglo-Saxon beód), also bote, from Middle High German bote, Old High German boto (Anglo-Saxon boda, whence English to bode), literally ‘herald.’