English word origin

Etymology of Beer

From Old English bearu (“grove”), from Proto-West Germanic *baru, from Proto-Germanic *barwaz (“grove”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

name

A village in East Devon district, Devon, England.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Old English bearu (“grove”), from Proto-West Germanic *baru, from Proto-Germanic *barwaz (“grove”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionbearuang · grove
Derivation mention*barugmw-pro
Derivation mention*barwazgem-pro · grove

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "bearu",
        "t": "grove"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bearu (“grove”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*baru"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *baru"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*barwaz",
        "t": "grove"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *barwaz (“grove”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bearu",
      "bearu#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*baru",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/baru"
    ],
    [
      "*barwaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/barwaz"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A village in East Devon district, Devon, England."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "d5bbc1ad0b64ed656c2ddff157ec6d87d04b541c2ae6ecfbe3c8d055ddd079ee",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b65417cedd6489c877bfe685370148b2ce65182f43dafb7ecb21864b1cdac847",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4423243
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

name

A surname.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

* As an English surname, from the place name in Devon (see Etymology 1 above); also from Old English bār (“boar”). * As a north German and Dutch surname, from beer (“bear”). See also the surnames Baer and Bahr. * As an Alemannic German surname, spelling variant of Bier (“beer”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionbārang · boar

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "bār",
        "t": "boar"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bār (“boar”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "German"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nl",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gsw",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Alemannic German"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bār",
      "bar#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "beer",
      "beer#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "Baer",
      "Baer#English"
    ],
    [
      "Bahr",
      "Bahr#English"
    ],
    [
      "Bier",
      "Bier#Alemannic_German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A surname."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "eefe44029c4dcbff0ba2864ea2a19d4273071b98894b2455c2c2992bc69cdbe3",
      "rawRecordSha256": "f43368b9ab4d5808da82b5a30f346bea19d834da8e8f84e898271cad6ed2f466",
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Beer →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-QmVlcg