better

👍

good

well

Frequency

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbɛtə/

Inherited from Middle English

Inherited from Old English

Cognate with Sanskrit

Cognate with Icelandic

Cognate with German

Inherited from Middle English

Inherited from Old English

Cognate with Western Frisian

Cognate with Dutch

Cognate with German

Cognate with Danish

Cognate with Swedish

In summary

From Middle English better, bettre, betre, from Old English betera (“better”), from Proto-West Germanic *batiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *batizô (“better”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰed-rós, from *bʰed- (“good”). Cognate with Sanskrit भद्र (bhadrá, “blessed, fortunate, happy, good”) (from *bʰn̥d-ró-s). For Germanic cognates: see Proto-Germanic *batizô. Related to best and battle (“getting better, improving, fruitful, fertile”). Compare also Icelandic batna (“to improve”), bót (“improvement”), German besser. More at batten, boot. Persian بهتر (behtar) is a false cognate.