*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of beag

Learned borrowing from Old English bēag (“circular jewelry worn on the body: ring, armlet, crown, collar”), from Proto-West Germanic *baug, from Proto-Germanic *baugaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to bend”). Cogn

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In this entry · 1 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.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A ring.

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

Learned borrowing from Old English bēag (“circular jewelry worn on the body: ring, armlet, crown, collar”), from Proto-West Germanic *baug, from Proto-Germanic *baugaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to bend”). Cognate with dialectal German Baug (“ring, collar”), Icelandic baugur (“ring, circle”). Doublet of bee (“ring”) and bagel.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰewgʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "lbor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "bēag",
        "4": "",
        "5": "circular jewelry worn on the body: ring, armlet, crown, collar"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Old English bēag (“circular jewelry worn on the body: ring, armlet, crown, collar”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*baug"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *baug"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*baugaz"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *baugaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰewgʰ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to bend"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to bend”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Baug",
        "3": "",
        "4": "ring, collar"
      },
      "expansion": "German Baug (“ring, collar”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "baugur",
        "3": "",
        "4": "ring, circle"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic baugur (“ring, circle”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "bee#Etymology_3",
        "3": "bagel#Etymology_1",
        "alt1": "bee",
        "t1": "ring"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of bee (“ring”) and bagel"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bēag",
      "beag#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*baug",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/baug"
    ],
    [
      "*baugaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/baugaz"
    ],
    [
      "*bʰewgʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰewgʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "Baug",
      "Baug#German"
    ],
    [
      "baugur",
      "baugur#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "bee",
      "bee#Etymology_3"
    ],
    [
      "bagel",
      "bagel#Etymology_1"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A ring."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
      "recordId": "3d7bec6ffcfb080062c88d408bc6657b90c7d2da5721701d9ca8c350df355445",
      "rawRecordSha256": "67a54b7a46d50e2e5307286b9b9ab6430afc00d6c7c928a463f5bb7a65742ad4",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 274277
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

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 beag →

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-YmVhZw