entry
bitch
/bɪtʃ/Female dog; offensive term for a person
From Germanic; ultimate origin uncertain bitch (Female dog).
from Proto-Germanic *bikjaną (“to thrust, attack”) (compare Old Norse bikkja (“to plunge into water”), Dutch bikken...
from Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ (“female dog”) (compare Norwegian bikkje (“dog, bitch”), Old Danish bikke (“bitch”))
from Old English biċċe
from Middle English biche, bicche
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Germanic *bikjaną (“to thrust, attack”) (compare Old Norse bikkja (“to plunge into water”), Dutch bikken...
from Proto-Germanic *bikjǭ (“female dog”) (compare Norwegian bikkje (“dog, bitch”), Old Danish bikke (“bitch”))
from Old English biċċe
from Middle English biche, bicche
Long before it became an insult, bitch was simply the practical kennel word for a female dog. English inherited it through forms such as Old English biċċe and Middle English bicche, while one influential theory traces it through Old Norse bikkjuna; another connects it with Proto-Germanic *bikjaną, “to thrust” or “attack.” The family resemblance may survive in bicker, which began as a word for skirmishing or stabbing before settling into the familiar sound of petty quarrelling. Around 1400, the canine noun was aimed at women as a term of contempt; by the 1500s it could also be applied playfully or contemptuously to men. Its modern life is even more elastic: African-American vernacular in the 1990s helped popularize uses for men, women, anger, affection, surprise, and nearly every emotional weather condition in between. A word that began in the kennel has become a linguistic mood ring—but its deepest origin remains disputed, so even its pedigree has a few muddy pawprints.
The Story
Long before it became an insult, bitch was simply the practical kennel word for a female dog. English inherited it through forms such as Old English biċċe and Middle English bicche, while one influential theory traces it through Old Norse bikkjuna; another connects it with Proto-Germanic *bikjaną, “to thrust” or “attack.” The family resemblance may survive in bicker, which began as a word for skirmishing or stabbing before settling into the familiar sound of petty quarrelling. Around 1400, the canine noun was aimed at women as a term of contempt; by the 1500s it could also be applied playfully or contemptuously to men. Its modern life is even more elastic: African-American vernacular in the 1990s helped popularize uses for men, women, anger, affection, surprise, and nearly every emotional weather condition in between. A word that began in the kennel has become a linguistic mood ring—but its deepest origin remains disputed, so even its pedigree has a few muddy pawprints.
Modern Usage
A highly flexible slang term expressing contempt, complaint, emphasis, affection, or emotional reaction; also a subordinating or sexually contemptuous insult
Notable References
- Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811)
- bitch goddess, coined by William James in 1906
Kin & Kindred
From 'bitch'·Female dog; originally a canine term
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary