Online Etymology Dictionary

bibliomaniac (n.): 1816; see bibliomania.
A bibliomaniac must be carefully distinguished from a bibliophile. The latter has not yet freed himself from the idea that books are meant to be read. [Walsh]
bibliophile (n.): also bibliophil, 1824, from French bibliophile, from biblio- + -phile.
bibliopole (n.): "bookseller," 1775, from Latin bibliopola, from Greek bibliopoles "bookseller," from biblion "book" (see bible) + poles "merchant, seller" (see monopoly).
bibliotheca (n.): see bibliothek.
bibliothecary (n.): "librarian," 1610s, from Latin bibliothecarius, from bibliotheca (see bibliothek). An earlier form in English was bibliothecar (1580s).
bibliothek (n.): Old English biblioðece "the Scriptures," from Latin bibliotheka "library, room for books; collection of books," from Greek bibliotheke, literally "book-repository" (from biblion, see Bible, + theke "case, chest, sheath," from root of tithenai "to put, place;" see theme), used of the Bible by Jerome and serving as the common Latin word for it until Biblia began to displace it 9c.
bibulous (adj.): 1670s, "spongy, absorbent," from Latin bibulus "drinking readily, given to drink;" of things, "absorbent; moistened," from bibere "to drink" (see imbibe). Meaning "fond of drink" 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 company co-founder Marcel Bich (1914-1994).
bicameral (adj.): "having two chambers," 1832, from bi- "two" (see bi-) + Late Latin camera "chamber" (see camera) + -al (1).
bicarbonate (n.): 1819, from bi- + carbonate.
bice (n.): "pale blue color," early 15c., shortened from blew bis "blue bice," from French bis "swarthy, brownish-gray" (12c.), cognate with Italian bigio; of unknown origin. Via French combinations azur bis, vert bis 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, "a bicentennial anniversary or celebration," also from 1843.
bicentennial: also bi-centennial, 1843 (adj.), 1871 (noun), American English, from bi- + centennial (q.v.). In rivalry with bicentenary (1831) which seems to have been the more common word in Britain.
bicep (n.): false singular of biceps (q.v.).
bicephalous (adj.): 1803, a hybrid from bi- + Latinized adjectival form of Greek kephale "head" (see cephalo-).
biceps: 1630s (adj.), from Latin biceps "having two parts," literally "two-headed," from bis "double" (see bis-) + -ceps comb. form of caput "head" (see capitulum). As a noun meaning "biceps muscle," from 1640s, so called for its structure. Despite the -s, it is singular, and classicists insist there is no such word as bicep.
bicipital (adj.): "having two heads," 1640s, from Latin biceps (genitive bicipitis); see biceps + -al (1).
bicker (v.): early 14c., bikere, "to skirmish, fight," perhaps from Middle Dutch bicken "to slash, stab, attack," + -er, Middle English frequentative suffix. Meaning "to quarrel" is from mid-15c. Related: Bickered; bickering.
bicker (n.): c.1300, skirmish, 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.
bickering (n.): c.1300, "a skirmish," from bicker (v.). Meaning "a verbal wrangle" is from 1570s.
bickering (adj.): 1808 in the sense of "contentious," present participle adjective from bicker (v.). Earlier it was used to mean "flashing, quivering" (1660s).
bicoastal (adj.): 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- + Latin cuspidem "cusp, point." As a noun, short for bicuspid molar, attested from 1837.
bicycle (n.): 1868, coined from bi- "two" + Greek kyklos "circle, wheel" (see cycle (n.)), on the pattern of tricycle; both the word and the vehicle superseding earlier velocipede. The English word probably is not from French, though often said to be (many French sources say the French word is from English). The assumption apparently is because 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.
That ne plus ultra of snobbishness -- bicyclism. [1876]
bicyclist (n.): 1869, from bicycle + -ist.
bid (v.): probably a merger of two old words: The sense in bid farewell is from Old English biddan "to ask, entreat, pray, beseech; order; beg" (class V strong verb, past tense bæd, past participle beden), from Proto-Germanic *bidjan "to pray, entreat" (cf. German bitten "to ask," attested from 8c.), which, 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, p.p. boden), from Proto-Germanic *biudanan "to stretch out, reach out, offer, present," (cf. German bieten "to offer"), from PIE root *bh(e)udh- "to be aware, make aware" (cf. Sanskrit bodhati "is awake, is watchful, observes," buddhah "awakened, enlightened;" Old Church Slavonic bljudo "to observe;" Lithuanian budeti "to be awake;" Old Irish buide "contentment, thanks"). As a noun, 1788, from the verb.
bidden: past participle of bid and bide.
biddy (n.): "old woman," 1785; meaning "Irish maid-servant" (1861) is American English; both from Biddy, pet form of common Irish proper name Bridget.
bide (v.): Old English bidan "to stay, continue, live, remain," also "to trust, rely" (cognate with Old Norse biða, Old Saxon bidan, Old Frisian bidia, Middle Dutch biden, Old High German bitan, Gothic beidan "to wait"), apparently from PIE *bheidh-, an extended stem of one root of Old English biddan (see bid (v.)), the original sense of which was "to command," and "to trust" (cf. Greek peithein "to persuade," pistis "faith;" Latin fidere "to trust," foedus "compact, treaty," Old Church Slavonic beda "need"). Perhaps the sense evolved in prehistoric times through "endure," and "endure a wait," to "to wait." Preserved in Scotland and northern England, replaced elsewhere by abide in all senses except to bide one's time. Related: Bided; biding.
bidet (n.): 1620s, "small horse," from French bidet (16c.), 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, 1941, from bi- + direction + -al (1). Originally of microphones. Related: Bidirectionally.
Biedermeier: 1854, from German, from Gottlieb Biedermeier, name of a fictitious writer of stodgy poems (invented by Ludwig Eichrodt as a satire on bourgeois taste); the name generally applied to styles prevalent in Germany 1815-48; also "conventional, bourgeois."
biennial (adj.): "lasting for two years" (1620s); "occurring every two years" (1750), from Latin biennium "two-year period," from bi- (see bi-) + annus "year" (see annual). 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" is attested by 1770.
biennium (n.): "space of two years," by 1851, from Latin biennium "two years, a period of two years," from bi- + annus "year" (see annual). For vowel change, see biennial.
bier (n.): Old English bær (West Saxon), ber (Anglian) "handbarrow, litter, bed," from West Germanic *bero (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German bara, Old Frisian bere, Middle Dutch bare, Dutch baar, German Bahre "bier"), from PIE root *bher- (1) "to carry; to bear children," and thus related to the Old English verb beran "to bear" (see bear (v.)), making a bier etymologically anything used for carrying, only later limited to funerary sense. Since c.1600, spelling influenced by French bière, from Old French biere, from Frankish *bera, from the same Germanic root.
bifarious (adj.): 1650s, from Latin bifarius "twofold, double," probably originally "that which can be expressed in two ways" [Klein], from bi- (see bi-) + fari "to speak, say" (see fame (n.)). Related: Bifariously.
biff (v.): "to hit," 1877, imitative (as a sound effect, from 1847). Related: Biffed; biffing. As a noun, attested from 1881.
bifid (adj.): "split in two equal parts," 1660s, from Latin bifidus "split into two parts," from bi- (see bi-) + stem of findere "to split" (see fissure).
bifocal (adj.): "having two foci," 1844, from bi- + focal.
bifocals (n.): "bifocal spectacles," 1899, see bifocal. Conceived by Benjamin Franklin, but called by him double spectacles.
bifoliate (adj.): "having two leaves," 1817, from bi- + foliate.
bifurcate (v.): 1610s, from Medieval Latin bifurcatus, from Latin bi- (see bi-) + furca, the root of fork. Related: Bifurcated; bifurcating.
bifurcate (adj.): 1835, from Medieval Latin bifurcatus, from Latin bi- (see bi-) + furca, the root of fork (n.).
bifurcation (n.): 1610s, "the point at which something splits in two," noun of action from bifurcate (v.). Meaning "division into two forks" is from 1640s.
big (adj.): c.1300, northern England dialect, "powerful, strong," of obscure origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source (cf. Norwegian dialectal bugge "great man"). Old English used micel in many of the same senses. Meaning "of great size" is late 14c.; that of "grown up" is attested from 1550s. Sense of "important" is from 1570s. Meaning "generous" is U.S. colloquial by 1913.

Big band as a musical style is from 1926. Slang big head "conceit" is first recorded 1850. Big business "large commercial firms collectively" is 1905; big house "penitentiary" is U.S. underworld slang first attested 1915 (in London, "a workhouse," 1851). In financial journalism, big ticket items so called from 1956. Big lie is from Hitler's grosse Lüge.
Big Apple: "New York," 1909 (but popularized by 1970s tourism promotion campaign), apparently from jazz musicians' use of apple for any city, especially a Northern one.
big bang: hypothetical explosive beginning of the universe, developed from the work of Monsignor Georges Henri Joseph Édouard Lemaître and George Gamow, the name first attested 1950 (said to have been used orally 1949) by British astronomer Fred Hoyle (1915-2001) in an attempt to explain the idea in laymen's terms.
Big Ben: clock in the Parliament tower in London, generally said to have been named for Sir Benjamin Hall (1802-1867), first Chief Commissioner of Works, under whose supervision the bell was cast.
Big Brother: "ubiquitous and repressive but apparently benevolent authority" first recorded 1949, from George Orwell's novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four."
big deal (n.): from mid-19c. in poker or business; as an ironic expression, popular in American English from c.1965, perhaps a translated Yiddishism (cf. a groyser kunst).