English word origin

Etymology of baa

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 ↗

verb

To make the characteristic cry of a sheep or (broader) of a sheep or goat.

noun

The characteristic cry or bleating of a sheep or (broader) a sheep or goat.

intj

The characteristic cry of a sheep or (broader) of a sheep or goat.

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

Compare German bäh, mäh; an imitative word. Notes on phonological development The pronunciation /bɑː/ is perhaps a development from earlier /bæː/ reflecting the shift of /æː/ to /ɑː/ during the 18th and 19th centuries. Compare Early Modern English bae, bea, both "to baa", respectively displaying the then current pronunciation of Middle English /aː/ as /æː/ and the failure of Middle English /ɛː/ to raise, and the replacement of mew with meow for another instance where recent sound change has made onomatopoeia opaque.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Cognate mentionbähde

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "de",
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      },
      "expansion": "German bäh"
    },
    {
      "name": "col-top",
      "args": {
        "1": "2",
        "2": "Notes on phonological development"
      },
      "expansion": "Notes on phonological development"
    },
    {
      "name": "m+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en-ear",
        "2": "bae"
      },
      "expansion": "Early Modern English bae"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bäh",
      "bäh#German"
    ],
    [
      "mäh",
      "mäh#German"
    ],
    [
      "bae",
      "bae#English"
    ],
    [
      "bea",
      "bea#English"
    ],
    [
      "mew",
      "mew#English"
    ],
    [
      "meow",
      "meow#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "glosses": [
        "To make the characteristic cry of a sheep or (broader) of a sheep or goat."
      ],
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        "The characteristic cry or bleating of a sheep or (broader) a sheep or goat."
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

The letter ب in the Arabic script.

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

Borrowed from Arabic بَاء (bāʔ).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "ar:بَاء",
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      },
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    },
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      "expansion": "Borrowed from Arabic بَاء (bāʔ)."
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  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "بَاء",
      "باء#Arabic"
    ]
  ],
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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 baa →

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-YmFh