*bedą

Disputed: most likely from either Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰedʰ-o-m from root *gʷʰedʰ- (‘to ask for, beseech’) or *bʰedʰ- (‘to bend, bow’), the former depending on the outcome of Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰ in Proto-Germanic, which otherwise was *w or *g; see *banô (murderer, killer, death’) and *berô (‘bear’) for other proposed examples of *gʷʰ- > *b-. (Kroonen 2013), though doubtful of this sound change, admits *gʷʰedʰ- is a better semantic match.