Biss
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Two main origins:
- English surname from Middle English bis (“dark, murky, gray”), an adjective related to French bis (“beige”) and Italian bigio (“ash gray, dun”).
- Borrowed from German Biss (“bite”), a nickname for a cutting, sarcastic person.
Proper noun
Biss (plural Bisses)
- A surname transferred from the nickname.
Statistics
- According to the 2010 United States Census, Biss is the 30222nd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 775 individuals. Biss is most common among White (96.13%) individuals.
Further reading
- Hanks, Patrick, editor (2003), “Biss”, in Dictionary of American Family Names, volume 1, New York City: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 165.
German
Alternative forms
- Biß (superseded)
Etymology
From Middle High German biz, from Old High German biz, from Proto-West Germanic *biti, from Proto-Germanic *bitiz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyd- (“to split”).
Cognate with Old English bite. In Dutch beet, English bit, this word has been merged with Proto-Germanic *bitô, whence German Bissen. (Modern English bite is a new derivation from the verb.)
Pronunciation
Noun
Biss m (strong, genitive Bisses, plural Bisse, diminutive Bisschen n or Bisslein n)
- bite (instance or way of biting; wound from biting)
Usage notes
- The spelling Biss has been the prescribed spelling since the German spelling reform of 1996 (the Rechtschreibreform). In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, it had already been standard since ⟨ß⟩ was deprecated in the 1930s. In the affected areas, the previous spelling (Biß) is now less common, and may be regarded as a misspelling.
Declension
Declension of Biss