Beg
/bɛɡ/noun
To ask for something earnestly or humbly, especially for money or food.
Did you know?The verb beg is believed to have emerged in Middle English from the noun beggar, and by the late medieval period it was tightly tied to poverty laws and the stigma of public dependence.
Etymological Timeline
Old English / Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*bagjaną
“likely a Germanic base meaning to ask for alms or beg”
12th–13th Century
English
beggen
“to ask for alms or charity”
13th Century
English
begger
“a person who asks for alms”
14th Century
English
beg
“to ask earnestly, especially for food or money”
Modern English
English
beg
“to ask for something urgently or humbly”