byt

See also: být, byť, and by't

Translingual

Etymology

Abbreviation of English Berti with y as a placeholder.

Symbol

byt

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Berti.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Berti terms

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch bijten, from Middle Dutch biten, from Old Dutch *bītan, from Proto-Germanic *bītaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰéydt (“to split”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛit/, [bə̟i̯t]

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

byt (present byt, present participle bytende, past participle gebyt)

1. to bite

   Die kat byt my — The cat is biting me

Noun

byt (plural byte)

1. bite (the wound left behind after having been bitten)

   byte van insekte kan gevaarlik wees — insect bites can be dangerous

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech byt, from Old Czech *bytъ/*bytь. By surface analysis, být +‎ -t.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɪt]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪt
• Homophone: bit

Noun

byt m inan (diminutive bytek)

1. apartment, flat (UK)

Declension

Declension of byt (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	byt	byty
genitive	bytu	bytů
dative	bytu	bytům
accusative	byt	byty
vocative	byte	byty
locative	bytě, bytu	bytech
instrumental	bytem	byty

Further reading

• “byt”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “byt”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “byt”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Danish

Verb

byt

1. imperative of bytte

Lower Sorbian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɨt/
• Rhymes: -ɨt
• Syllabification: byt

Verb

byt

1. supine of byś

Middle English

Noun

byt

1. (Late Middle English) alternative form of bite

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bytъ/*bytь. By surface analysis, býti +‎ -t.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈbɨt/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈbit/

Noun

byt m inan or f

1. existence
2. dwelling

   u věčnéj byti ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Declension

Declension of byt (hard o-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	byt	byty	byti, bytové
genitive	byta, bytu	bytú	bytóv
dative	bytu	bytoma	bytóm
accusative	byt	byty	byty
vocative	byte	byty	byti, bytové
locative	bytě, bytu	bytú	bytiech
instrumental	bytem	bytoma	byty

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.

Declension of byt (i-stem)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	byt	byti	byti
genitive	byti	byťú	bytí
dative	byti	bytma	bytem
accusative	byt	byti	byti
vocative	byti	byti	byti
locative	byti	byťú	bytech
instrumental	byťú	bytma	bytmi

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.

Descendants

• Czech: byt

Further reading

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “byt”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old English

Alternative forms

• bytt

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-West Germanic *buttjā, from Late Latin buttia, likely borrowed from Byzantine Greek βούττια (boúttia), plural of βούττιον (boúttion), diminutive of βοῦττις (boûttis, “vessel”).

Noun

byt f

1. bottle, flagon

Declension

Strong ō-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	byt	bytta, bytte
accusative	bytte	bytta, bytte
genitive	bytte	bytta
dative	bytte	byttum

Descendants

• Middle English: bitte, bit, bite, butte (AB language)
  • >? English: butt

References

• Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “byt”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *bytъ. First attested in the 15th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bit/

Noun

byt m animacy unattested

1. life, existence
   • 1874-1891 [Middle of the 15th century], Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności‎^{[1], [2], [3]}, volume XXII, page 238:

     Czy, gisch placzą przetluzenya tego bita, bądą vczyescheny

     [Ci, jiż płaczą przedłużenia tego byta, będą ucieszeni]

2. habitation, dwelling
   • 1884 [c. 1455-1460], “Die Magdeburger Urtheile. Ein Deutschen Rechtes in polnischer Sprache aus der Mitte des XV Jahrhunderts”, in Aleksander Brückner, editor, Archiv für slavische Philologie, volume VI, page 370:

     Middle of the 15th century

     [Kthory czlowyek szyedzy w prawie myeszczkyem, maydborszkyem prawye y tam bytem zyl albo zywye, ten moze szwey zenye dacz wyano]

     Ktory człowiek siedzi w prawie miesckiem, majdborskiem prawie, i tam bytem żył albo żywie, ten może swej żenie dać wiano

Descendants

• Polish: byt
• Silesian: byt

Further reading

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “byt”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

Polish

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish byt.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɘt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɘt
• Syllabification: byt

Noun

byt m inan

1. being; entity (abstract concept)
2. existence
3. (dated) everyday life

Declension

Declension of byt

	singular	plural
nominative	byt	byty
genitive	bytu	bytów
dative	bytowi	bytom
accusative	byt	byty
instrumental	bytem	bytami
locative	bycie	bytach
vocative	bycie	byty

Derived terms

adjective

• bytowy

nouns

• bytność
• niebyt

verb

• bytować

Further reading

• byt in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• byt in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• Wanda Decyk-Zięba, editor (2018-2022), “byt”, in Dydaktyczny Słownik Etymologiczno-historyczny Języka Polskiego [A Didactic, Historical, Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), →ISBN

Slovak

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bit/, [ˈbit]
• Rhymes: -it

• Audio (Bratislava):

  (file)

Noun

byt m inan (relational adjective bytový, diminutive bytík, augmentative bytisko)

1. apartment, flat (UK)

Declension

Declension of byt
(pattern dub)

	singular	plural
nominative	byt	byty
genitive	bytu	bytov
dative	bytu	bytom
accusative	byt	byty
locative	byte	bytoch
instrumental	bytom	bytmi

Further reading

• “byt”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Swedish

Verb

byt

1. imperative of byta

Vilamovian

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

byt f (diminutive bytła)

1. barrel (container for wine, fish, etc.)

West Frisian

Verb

byt

1. first-person singular present of bite
2. third-person singular present of bite
3. imperative of bite