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I thought it came from German 'By God'?
A person with prejudiced views who does not tolerate the opinions of other people.
Origin: old french
The word bigot and bigoterie was spoken in England in the late 1590s,and the word originated from France.A bigot was a religious hypocrite especially referring to a woman.
bigot Look up bigot at Dictionary.com
1598, from M.Fr. bigot, from O.Fr., supposedly a derogatory name for Normans, the old theory (not universally accepted) being that it springs from their frequent use of O.E. oath bi God. Plausible, since the Eng. were known as goddamns in Joan of Arc's France, and during World War I Americans serving in France were said to be known as les sommobiches (see also son of a bitch). But the earliest Fr. use of the word (12c.) is as the name of a people apparently in southern Gaul. The earliest Eng. sense is of "religious hypocrite," especially a female one, and may be influenced by beguine. Sense extended 1687 to other than religious opinions.
This is the definition from dictionary.com. The Oxford Dictionary of Etymology seems to concur with this - in that it was a name give to the Normans, but also noted that it was used in 12th century, and then became a family name for a Norman family. Of note, however, is the comment that: "The gap between these earlier references and the much later use of the word as a common noun has not been bridged"
Begotten unto one's self an extreme intolerance of the differences of others.
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That is also referred to in the etymology. I would guess there has to be some truth in that - if it was a truly French word, then surely the pronunciation would have remained bee-go. The link with German seems to stand, both with the words 'bei Gott' and the current pronunciation. Although, there are some words which have been adopted into English that have a pronunciation which is more phonetic that its original french - eg gigot. (as in a gigot of lamb) Oh why does language have to be so confusing?
by dea_ex_machina on November 8th, 2008
I see where you are coming from Bohemian 'bei Gott'
by Schonberg on November 8th, 2008
Thank you schonberg and the same to you.
by Bohemian is back on November 8th, 2008
schonberg 'bei Gott'
by Bohemian is back on November 8th, 2008