*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bel-

From Middle English bel (“fair, excellent"; in compounds "great-, grand-”), from Anglo-Norman bel, Old French bel (“beautiful, noble, honorable”).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
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 ↗
prefix

A prefix equivalent to grand-

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

From Middle English bel (“fair, excellent"; in compounds "great-, grand-”), from Anglo-Norman bel, Old French bel (“beautiful, noble, honorable”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Derivation mentionbelenm · fair, excellent"; in compounds "great-, grand-
  • Derivation mentionbelfro · beautiful, noble, honorable
Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "bel",
        "t": "fair, excellent\"; in compounds \"great-, grand-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English bel (“fair, excellent\"; in compounds \"great-, grand-”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "bel"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman bel"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "bel",
        "t": "beautiful, noble, honorable"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French bel (“beautiful, noble, honorable”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "bel",
      "bel#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "great-",
      "great-"
    ],
    [
      "grand-",
      "grand-"
    ],
    [
      "bel",
      "bel#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "bel",
      "bel#Old_French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "A prefix equivalent to grand-"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "morpheme",
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "recordId": "7e25185e5094ce1d91aa36cbd0ab82a7503c8c40a067b8147daa63601c76e717",
      "rawRecordSha256": "fe0eaff5ac0e96cb99b96cefa7a44aa049c9ae5b9597415dffcea683bafbb29c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 2119274
    }
  ],
  "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 bel- →

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-YmVsLQ