An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/beißen

by Friedrich Kluge

beißen, vb., ‘to bite,’ from the equiv. MidHG. bîȥen, OHG. bîȥȥan; cognate with Goth. beitan, AS. bîtan, E. to bite. A primit. Teut. verb with the sense of ‘to bite,’ which has, however, as is shown by the cognate tongues, been specialised from the more general meaning ‘to make smaller, to split with a sharp instrument.’ Comp. Lat. findo, Sans. root bhid, ‘to split, break to pieces’; in OTeut. poetry beißen is also used of the sword — a remnant of the earlier meaning. Beil, too, if primit. akin to it, must be connected with Lat. findere, ‘to split.’ Comp. bitter, which signifies orig. ‘piercing.’ From the same root Biß, MidHG. and OHG. biȥ, m., is derived, to which AS. bite, E. bit, corresponds; Bißchen is a diminutive of it. ModHG. Bissen, from MidHG. biȥȥe, OHG. biȥȥo; OLG. biti, E. bite.