Etymology dictionary

*bhrug- — bight (n.)

*bhrug-

*bhrūg-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to enjoy," with derivatives referring to agricultural products.

It forms all or part of: brook (v.) "to endure;" defunct; fructify; fructose; frugal; fruit; fruitcake; fruitful; fruition; fruitless; frumentaceous; function; fungible; perfunctory; tutti-frutti; usufruct.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin frui "to use, enjoy," fructus "an enjoyment, proceeds, fruit, crops;" Old English brucan "use, enjoy, possess," German brauchen "to use."

Bhutan

Himalayan land between Tibet and India, from Sanskrit bhota "Tibet" + anta "end." The local name is said to be Druk Yul "Land of the Dragon." Related: Bhutanese.

bi (adj.)

1956 as a colloquial abbreviation of bisexual (q.v.).

bis-

word-forming element meaning "twice," from Latin bis "twice, in two ways, doubly," from Old Latin dvis, cognate with Sanskrit dvih, Avestan bish, Greek dis, Middle High German zwis "twice," from PIE root *dwo- "two." Also the form of bi- used before -s-, -c-, or a vowel.

bi-

word-forming element meaning "two, having two, twice, double, doubly, twofold, once every two," etc., from Latin bi- "twice, double," from Old Latin dvi- (cognate with Sanskrit dvi-, Greek di-, dis-, Old English twi-, German zwei- "twice, double"), from PIE root *dwo- "two."

Nativized from 16c. Occasionally bin- before vowels; this form originated in French, not Latin, and might be partly based on or influenced by Latin bini "twofold" (see binary). In chemical terms, it denotes two parts or equivalents of the substance referred to. Cognate with twi- and di- (1).

bias (v.)

"giving a bias to, causing to incline to one side," 1610s literal; 1620s figurative; from bias (n.). Compare French biasier. Related: Biased; biasing.

bias (n.)

1520s, "oblique or diagonal line," from French biais "a slant, a slope, an oblique," also figuratively, "an expedient, means" (13c., originally in Old French a past-participle adjective, "sideways, askance, against the grain"), a word of unknown origin. Probably it came to French from Old Provençal biais, which has cognates in Old Catalan and Sardinian, and is possibly via Vulgar Latin *(e)bigassius from Greek epikarsios "athwart, crosswise, at an angle," from epi "upon" (see epi-) + karsios "oblique" (from PIE *krs-yo-, suffixed form of root *sker- (1) "to cut").

In the old game of bowls, it was a technical term used in reference to balls made with a greater weight on one side, causing them to curve obliquely (1560s); hence the figurative use "a one-sided tendency of the mind" (1570s), and, at first especially in law, "undue propensity or prejudice."

bialy (n.)

bagel with onion flakes sprinkled on it, by 1936, ultimately short for Białystok, city in modern Poland. The city is named for the Biała river (literally White River), that flows past it, from Polish biały "white" + stok "slope."

Bianca

fem. proper name, from Italian, fem. of bianco "white," which is from Germanic (see blank (adj.)). A doublet of French Blanche, which also is from Germanic, and compare Gwen, which means the same.

biangular (adj.)

also bi-angular, "having two angles or corners," 1770; see bi- "two" + angular.

biannual (adj.)

also bi-annual; "occurring every six months, twice a year," 1837; see bi- + annual (adj.). It is distinguished in sense from biennial, but the distinction is etymologically arbitrary. Related: Biannually; bi-annually.

biarticulate (adj.)

"having two joints," 1806; see bi- "two" + articulate.

biased (adj.)

1610s in reference to bowling, 1660s in reference to persons; past-participle adjective from bias (v.). The simple bias also formerly was used as an adjective.

biathlon (n.)

"athletic contest in which participants ski and shoot," 1956, from bi- "two" + Greek athlon, literally "contest," but in this case abstracted from pentathlon.

biaxial (adj.)

also bi-axial, "having two axes," 1833; see bi- + axial. Related: Biaxially; biaxiality.

bib (n.)

linen worn over the breast, especially by children, to keep the front of the dress clean while eating, 1570s, from verb bibben "to drink" (late 14c.), which is perhaps imitative of lip sounds; or else [Skeat] it is from Latin bibere "to drink" (from PIE root *po(i)- "to drink"). If the latter, it is difficult now to say whether this is because it was worn while drinking or because it "soaked up" spills.

bibber (n.)

"drinker, tippler," 1530s, from Middle English bibben (v.) "to drink heartily" (see bib (n.)).

bibelot (n.)

"small curio," 1873, from French bibelot "knick-knack," from Old French beubelet "trinket, jewel" (12c.), from belbel "plaything," a reduplication of bel "pretty" (see belle).

bibitory (adj.)

"pertaining to drinking," 1690s, from Modern Latin bibitorius, from Late Latin bibitor "drinker, toper," from Latin bibere "to drink" (from PIE root *po(i)- "to drink"). Bibacious "fond of drinking" is from 1670s.

Bible (n.)

"the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments," early 14c., from Anglo-Latin biblia, Old French bible (13c.) "the Bible," also any large book generally, from Medieval and Late Latin biblia "the Bible" (neuter plural interpreted as feminine singular), from phrase biblia sacra "holy books," a translation of Greek ta biblia to hagia "the holy books." The Latin word is from the Greek one, biblion "paper, scroll," also the ordinary word for "a book as a division of a larger work;" see biblio-.

The Christian scripture was referred to in Greek as Ta Biblia as early as c. 223. Bible replaced Old English biblioðece (see bibliothec) as the ordinary word for "the Scriptures." Figurative sense of "any authoritative book" is from 1804. Bible-thumper "strict Christian" is from 1870. Bible belt in reference to the swath of the U.S. South then dominated by fundamentalist Christians is from 1926; likely coined by H.L. Mencken.

biblical (adj.)

1734, "pertaining to the Bible," from Bible + -ical. Related: Biblically. An earlier adjective was Biblic (1680s). Related: Biblicality.

biblico-

word-forming element meaning "biblical, biblical and," from combining form of Medieval Latin biblicus, from biblia (see Bible).

biblio-

word-forming element meaning "book" or sometimes "Bible," from Greek biblion "paper, scroll," also the ordinary word for "a book as a division of a larger work;" originally a diminutive of byblos "Egyptian papyrus." This is perhaps from Byblos, the Phoenician port from which Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece (modern Jebeil, in Lebanon; for sense evolution compare parchment). Or the place name might be from the Greek word, which then would be probably of Egyptian origin. Compare Bible. Latin liber (see library) and English book also are ultimately from plant-words.

bibliographer (n.)

1650s, "one who writes or copies books," from Greek bibliographos "writer of books, transcriber, copyist," related to bibliographia (see bibliography). From 1809 as "one who studies or writes about books."

bibliographical (adj.)

"pertaining to bibliography," 1670s; see bibliography + -ical. Related: Bibliographic.

bibliography (n.)

1670s, "the writing of books," from Greek bibliographia "the writing of books," from biblion "book" (see biblio-) + graphos "(something) drawn or written" (see -graphy).

The meaning "the study of books, authors, publications, etc.," is from 1803. The sense of "a list of books that form the literature of a subject" is attested by 1814. Related: Bibliographic.

biblioklept (n.)

"one who steals books," 1880, from biblio- "book" + Greek kleptēs "thief" (see kleptomania). Walsh calls it "a modern euphemism which softens the ugly word book-thief by shrouding it in the mystery of the Greek language."

bibliolator (n.)

also bibliolater, "book-worshipper," 1820, perhaps first in Coleridge, from bibliolatry (q.v.). In later use, especially "one who regards the letter of the Bible with undue respect."

bibliolatry (n.)

1763, "worship of books," from biblio- "book" + -latry "worship of." Meaning "worship of the Bible" is from 1847. Related: Bibliolatrist; bibliolatrous.

bibliology (n.)

"book-lore," 1804, from French bibliologie; see biblio- + -logy. By 1871 as "Biblical literature."

bibliomancy (n.)

1753, "divination by opening a book (especially the Bible) at random," the first verse presenting itself being taken as a prognostication of future events, from biblio- + -mancy. In pagan times, Homer (sortes Homericae) and Virgil (sortes Virgilianae) were used.

bibliomania (n.)

"book-madness, a rage for collecting rare or unusual books," 1734, after French bibliomanie, from biblio- "book" + mania.

bibliomaniac (n.)

"one mad for books, an enthusiastic collector of rare or unusual books," 1811; see bibliomania. Earlier was bibliomane (1777), from French.

bibliopegy (n.)

"the art of book-binding," 1835, from biblio- "book" + Greek pegia, from pegnynai "to fasten, fix; make stiff or solid," from PIE root *pag- "to fasten." Related: Bibliopegic; bibliopegist.

bibliophile (n.)

also bibliophil, "lover of books," 1824, from French bibliophile; see biblio- "book" + -phile "lover." Related: Bibliophilic; bibliophily.

bibliophobia (n.)

"dread or hatred of books," 1832, from biblio- "book" + -phobia. From late 18c. in German and Dutch. Related: Bibliophobic; bibliophobe.

bibliopole (n.)

"bookseller," 1775, from Latin bibliopola, from Greek bibliopōlēs "bookseller," from biblion "book" (see biblio-) + pōlēs "merchant, seller," from pōlein "to sell" (from PIE root *pel- (4) "to sell"). Especially a dealer in rare or curious books. French has bouquinist "a dealer in second-hand books of little value."

bibliothec (n.)

also bibliothek, Old English biblioðece "the Bible, the Scriptures," from Latin bibliotheca "library, room for books; collection of books" (in Late Latin and Medieval Latin especially "the Bible"), from Greek bibliothēkē, literally "book-repository," from biblion "book" (see biblio-) + thēkē "case, chest, sheath," from suffixed form of PIE root *dhe- "to set, put." Used of the Bible by Jerome and serving as the common Latin word for it until Biblia began to displace it 9c. (see Bible). The word was later reborrowed from French as bibliotheque (16c.).

bibliotheca (n.)

"the Bible," also "library, place to keep books;" see bibliothec.

bibliothecary (n.)

"librarian," 1610s, from Latin bibliothecarius "a librarian," noun use of an adjective, from bibliotheca "library, room for books; collection of books," from Greek bibliothēkē, literally "book-repository," from biblion "book" (see biblio-) + thēkē "case, chest, sheath" (from suffixed form of PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). An earlier form in English was bibliothecar (1580s), and compare bibliothec.

bibulous (adj.)

1670s, "spongy, absorbent," from Latin bibulus "drinking readily, given to drink;" of things, "absorbent; moistened," from bibere "to drink" (from PIE root *po(i)- "to drink"). The meaning "fond of drink" is attested in English by 1861.

Bic (n.)

popular type of plastic ball-point pen, designed c. 1950 in France, named 1953 as a shortened form of the name of company co-founder Marcel Bich (1914-1994).

bicameral (adj.)

"having two chambers," 1832; see bi- "two" + Late Latin camera "chamber" (see camera) + -al (1).

bicarbonate (n.)

"carbonate containing two equivalents of carbonic acid to one of a base," 1814, bi-carbonate of potash; see bi- + carbonate. Apparently coined by English chemist William Hyde Wollaston.

bice (n.)

"pale blue color," early 15c., shortened from blew bis "blue bice," from French bis "swarthy, brownish-gray" (12c.), a word of unknown origin, cognate with Italian bigio. Via French combinations azur bis, vert bis, names given to two dark colors used in painting, the word came into English with a sense of "blue" or "green."

bicentenary (adj.)

"pertaining to a 200-year period," 1843; see bi- + centenary. Also see bicentennial. As a noun, "two-hundredth anniversary or celebration," from 1840.

bicentennial (adj.)

also bi-centennial, "occurring every two-hundred years," 1843, American English; see bi- + centennial (q.v.). In rivalry with bicentenary (1840) which seems to have been the more common word in Britain. From 1871 as a noun, "the two-hundredth anniversary of an event."

bicep (n.)

false singular of biceps (q.v.).

biceps

1630s (adj.) "two-headed," specifically in anatomy, "having two distinct origins," from Latin biceps "having two parts," literally "two-headed," from bis "double" (see bis-) + -ceps, combining form of caput "head" (from PIE root *kaput- "head"). As a noun meaning "biceps muscle of the arm," from 1640s, so called for its structure. Despite the -s, it is singular, and classicists insist there is no such word as bicep.

bicephalous (adj.)

"having two heads," 1803, a hybrid from bi- + Latinized adjectival form of Greek kephalē "head" (see cephalo-) + -ous. Bicephalic in the same sense is by 1863.

bicipital (adj.)

"having two heads," 1640s, from Latin biceps (genitive bicipitis; see biceps) + -al (1).

bickering (adj.)

1808 in the sense of "contentious," present-participle adjective from bicker (v.). Earlier it was used to mean "flashing, quivering" (1660s).

bicker (v.)

early 14c., bikere, "to skirmish, fight," perhaps from Middle Dutch bicken "to slash, stab, attack," + -er, Middle English frequentative suffix (as in blabber, hover, patter (v.); see -er (4)). The meaning "to quarrel, petulantly contend with words" is from mid-15c. The meaning "make a noisy, repeated clatter" is from 1748. Related: Bickered; bickering.

bickering (n.)

c. 1300, "a skirmish," verbal noun from bicker (v.). The meaning "a verbal wrangle" is from 1570s.

bicker (n.)

c. 1300, "a skirmish, a confused battle;" from the same source as bicker (v.). In modern use, often to describe the sound of a flight of an arrow or other repeated, loud, rapid sounds, in which sense it is perhaps at least partly echoic.

bicoastal (adj.)

"pertaining to two coasts," also bi-coastal, by 1977 in reference to the East and West coasts of the U.S. (or, specifically, New York and Los Angeles); from bi- + coastal.

bicuspid (adj.)

1826, "having two parts," from bi- "two" + Latin cuspidem "cusp, point," which is of unknown origin. As a noun, short for bicuspid molar, attested from 1837.

bicycling (n.)

"art or practice of riding on a bicycle," 1869, verbal noun from bicycle (v.), for which see bicycle (n.).

bicycle (n.)

1868, from bi- "two" + a Latinized form of Greek kyklos "circle, wheel" (see cycle (n.)), on the pattern of tricycle; both the word and the vehicle superseding earlier velocipede.

The English word is said in some dictionaries to be probably not from French, but the 1868 citations are in a French context:

Pierre Lallement, employee of a French carriage works, improved Macmillan's 1839 pedal velocipede in 1865 and took the invention to America. See also pennyfarthing. As a verb, from 1869.

bicyclist (n.)

"one who rides on a bicycle," 1869, from bicycle + -ist.

bid (n.)

1788, "an offer of a price," from bid (v.). From 1880 in card-playing.

bid (v.)

probably an early Middle English mutual influence or confusion of two older words: The sense in bid farewell is from Old English biddan "to ask, entreat, beg, pray, beseech; order" (class V strong verb, past tense bæd, past participle beden), from Proto-Germanic *bedjanan "to pray, entreat" (source also of German bitten "to ask," attested in Old High German from 8c., also Old Saxon biddian, Old Frisian bidda "ask, request command," Old Norse biðja, Gothic bidjan "request"). This, according to Kluge and Watkins, is from a PIE root *gwhedh- "to ask, pray" (see bead (n.)).

To bid at an auction, meanwhile, is from Old English beodan "offer, proclaim" (class II strong verb; past tense bead, past participle boden), from Proto-Germanic *beudanan "to stretch out, reach out, offer, present," (source also of German bieten "to offer," Old High German biatan, also Old Saxon biodan, Old Frisian biada, Old Norse bjoða, Gothic anabiudan "to command"). This is (with a shift of meaning) from PIE root *bheudh- "be aware, make aware" (source also of bode (v.)).

bidden

past participle of bid and bide.

biddy (n.)

"old woman," 1785, from Biddy, pet form of common Irish fem. proper name Bridget. The meaning "Irish female domestic servant" (1861) is American English.

bide (v.)

Middle English biden, from Old English bidan "to stay, continue, live, remain," also "to trust, rely," from Proto-Germanic *bidan "to await" (source also of Old Norse biða, Old Saxon bidan, Old Frisian bidia, Middle Dutch biden, Old High German bitan, Gothic beidan "to wait"), which is of uncertain origin. According to Watkins possibly from PIE root *bheidh- "to trust, confide, persuade" (via notion of "to await trustingly").

Frequent in Middle English (to bide on live was "stay alive;" bide in bay was "stand at bay"). It was preserved in Scotland and northern England, displaced elsewhere by abide in all senses except in the expression bide (one's) time. "I Bide My Time" is said to be "the motto of the earls of Loudon" in a Scottish context [1806, in a note to "Poetical Words of Sir David Lyndsay"], and it may owe its popularity to Scott's significant use of it in "The Bride of Lammermoor":

Related: Bided; biding.

bidet (n.)

1620s, "small horse," from French bidet (16c.), a word of unknown etymology. Originally in French "a small horse, a pony," thus "a vessel on a low narrow stand, which can be bestridden for bathing purposes," a sense attested in English from 1766.

bidirectional (adj.)

also bi-directional, "functioning or occurring in two directions," by 1941, from bi- + direction + -al (1). Originally of microphones. Related: Bidirectionally.

Biedermeier (n.)

1899, in reference to the artistic, literary, and decorative styles popular in middle-class, mid-19c. German households. It is from German, a reference to Gottlieb Biedermeier, the name of a fictitious writer of stodgy poems (invented by Ludwig Eichrodt as a satire on bourgeois taste). The term was used in German publications from c. 1870. Also as an adjective, "conventional, bourgeois."

biennial (adj.)

1620s, "lasting for two years;" 1750, "occurring every two years," from Latin biennium "two-year period," from bi- "two" (see bi-) + annus "year" (see annual (adj.)). The vowel change is "due to the Latin phonetic law according to which the unaccented and closed radical syllable of the second element of compounds, original -ă- becomes -ĕ-" [Klein]. The noun meaning "a biennial plant" (which requires two seasons of growth to produce flowers and fruit and dies the next) is attested by 1770. Related: Biennially.

biennium (n.)

"space of two years," 1835, from Latin biennium "two years, a period of two years," from bi- "two" (see bi-) + annus "year" (see annual (adj.)). For vowel change, see biennial.

bier (n.)

Middle English bere, from Old English bær (West Saxon), ber (Anglian) "handbarrow, litter, bed," from West Germanic *bero (source also of Old Saxon, Old High German bara, Old Frisian bere, Middle Dutch bare, Dutch baar, German Bahre "bier"), from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry."

The original sense is "wooden frame on which to carry a load," and it is related to bear (v.). The specific sense of "framework on which a coffin or corpse is laid before burial" was in late Old English and predominated from c. 1600. The spelling altered from c. 1600 under influence of French bière, from Old French biere, which is from Frankish *bera, from the same Germanic source.

bifarious (adj.)

"divided in two parts," 1650s, from Latin bifarius "twofold, double," from bi- "two" (see bi-) + fari "to speak, say" (from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say"). Probably originally "that which can be expressed in two ways" [Klein]. Related: Bifariously.

biff (v.)

"to hit," 1877, imitative (as a sound effect by 1847). Related: Biffed; biffing. As a noun, attested by 1881.

bifid (adj.)

"cleft, forked, split halfway down into two equal parts," 1660s, from Latin bifidus "split into two parts," from bi- "two" (see bi-) + -fid, from stem of findere "to split" (from PIE root *bheid- "to split"). Related: Bifidity.

bifocals (n.)

"bifocal spectacles," 1883, bi-focals; see bifocal. Invented by Benjamin Franklin, but he called them double spectacles.

bifocal (adj.)

"having two foci," 1844; see bi- "two" + focal.

bifold (adj.)

"double, of two kinds," c. 1600; see bi- "two" + -fold.

bifoliate (adj.)

"having two leaves or leaflets," 1817; see bi- "two" + foliate.

bifurcate (v.)

"to divide into two forks or branches," 1610s, from Medieval Latin bifurcatus, from Latin bi- "two" (see bi-) + furca "two-pronged fork, fork-shaped instrument," a word of unknown etymology. Related: Bifurcated; bifurcating.

bifurcate (adj.)

"two-forked," 1835, from Medieval Latin bifurcatus, from Latin bi- "two" (see bi-) + furca "two-pronged fork," a word of unknown etymology. Nativized biforked in the same sense is from 1570s.

bifurcation (n.)

1610s, "the point at which something splits in two," noun of action from bifurcate (v.). The meaning "a division into two forks" is from 1640s.

big (adj.)

c. 1300, at first found chiefly in writings from northern England and north Midlands, with a sense of "powerful, strong;" a word of obscure origin. It is possibly from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian dialectal bugge "great man"). Old English used micel (see much) in many of the same senses.

Big came into general use c. 1400. The meaning "of great size" is from late 14c., as is that of "full-grown, grown up." The sense of "important, influential, powerful" is from c. 1400. The meaning "haughty, inflated with pride" is from 1570s. The sense of "generous" is U.S. colloquial by 1913.

Big band as a musical style is from 1926. Slang big head "conceit" is recorded by 1850. Big business "large commercial firms collectively" is from 1913 (before that it meant "a profitable income in business"). Big top "main tent of a circus" is from 1895. Big game "large animals hunted for sport" is from 1864. Big house "penitentiary" is U.S. underworld slang is attested by 1915 (in London, "a workhouse," 1851). In financial journalism, big ticket items were so called from 1956. Big lie is from Hitler's grosse Lüge.

bigness (n.)

"largeness of proportions; size, whether large or small; bulk, absolute or relative," late 15c., from big + -ness.

bigamous (adj.)

"pertaining to or guilty of bigamy," 1690s; see bigamy + -ous.

bigamy (n.)

"state of having two wives or husbands at the same time," mid-13c., from Old French bigamie (13c.), from Medieval Latin bigamia "bigamy," from Late Latin bigamus "twice married," a hybrid from bi- "double" (see bi-) + Greek gamos "marrying" (see gamete). The Greek word was digamia, from digamos "twice married."

In Middle English, also of two successive marriages or marrying a widow.

bigamist (n.)

"one who has had two or more wives or husbands at once," 1630s; see bigamy + -ist. Earlier in the same sense was bigame (mid-15c.), from Old French bigame, from Medival Latin bigamus.

Big Apple (n.)

"New York City," 1909 (but popularized by 1970s tourism promotion campaign), apparently from jazz musicians' use of apple for any city, especially a Northern one.

bigass (adj.)

from big + ass (2). By 1945 as big-assed in U.S. military slang, later through African-American Vernacular variant as big-ass, bigass.

big bang (n.)

hypothetical explosive beginning of the universe, developed from the work of astronomers Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître and George Gamow; the phrase is first attested 1950 (said to have been used orally in 1949), used by British astronomer Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) in an attempt to explain the idea in laymen's terms.

Big Ben (n.)

clock-bell in the Parliament tower in London, by 1861, generally said to have been named for Sir Benjamin Hall (1802-1867), first Chief Commissioner of Works, under whose supervision the bell was cast. The name later was extended to the clock itself and its tower.

big-boned (adj.)

"stout," 1580s, now often considered euphemistic. See big (adj.) + bone (n.).

Big Brother (n.)

"ubiquitous and repressive but apparently benevolent authority" 1949, from George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four." The phrase big brother for "older brother" is attested by 1833.

big deal (n.)

1860s, "a good deal, a large amount;" by 1878 in financial speculation, originally in California publications; see deal (n.1). As an ironic expression, popular in American English from c. 1965, perhaps a translated Yiddishism (such as a groyser kunst).

Big Dipper (n.)

American English name for the seven-star asterism (known in England as the plough; see Charles's Wain) in the constellation Ursa Major, 1845; attested 1833 as simply the Dipper (sometimes Great Dipper, its companion constellation always being the Little Dipper). See dipper.

bigfoot (n.)

supposed elusive man-like creature of the Pacific Northwest, 1963, from big (adj.) + foot (n.).

biggen (v.)

1640s, "to make big, increase," also "grow big, become larger," from big (adj.) + -en (1). As a noun, bigger is attested from mid-15c. for "builder."

bigger (adj.)

comparative of big (q.v.).

biggest (adj.)

superlative of big (q.v.).

biggie (n.)

1931, "important person," from big in the "important, influential" sense + -ie.

bighorn (n.)

"Rocky Mountain sheep," 1805, American English (Lewis & Clark), from big + horn (n.).

bight (n.)

Old English byht "bend, angle, corner," from Proto-Germanic *buhtiz (source also of Middle Low German bucht, German Bucht, Dutch bocht, Danish bught "bight, bay"), from PIE root *bheug- "to bend," with derivatives referring to bent, pliable, or curved objects. The sense of "long, narrow indentation on a coastline" is from late 15c. In Middle English it also was used in reference to the body, of the fork of the legs or the hollow of an armpit.