Neuter

From Middle High German bette, bete, bet, from Old High German betti, beti (“bed, flower-bed”), from Proto-West Germanic *badi, from Proto-Germanic *badją. Doublet of Bett (“bed for sleeping”). The West Germanic noun had simple -d- in the nominative/accusative and geminated -dd- in the oblique cases. This alternation was generally levelled towards the geminate, but variants with a simple consonant survived through Old and Middle High German. The form Beet, which is of Central German origin, likely continues such dialectal forms, though some consider it a late and arbitrary alteration. The semantic distinction from Bett is in any case artificial and dates from the 17th century.