" better "

[Adjective]  | "bet*ter" | \ ˈbe-tər \

1: greater than half

2: improved in health or mental attitude

3: more attractive, favorable, or commendable

Origin: before 12th century ;

 Middle English betere, bettere, bettre, better, going back to Old English betera, betra, bettra, going back to Germanic *batizōn (whence also Old Frisian betera, betra, Old Saxon betara, Old High German bezziro, Old Icelandic betri, Gothic batiza), comparative degree of an otherwise unattested adjective from a base *bat-, whence also, with lengthened o-grade, *bōtō "improvement," whence Old English bōt "a making good, remedy, improvement, atonement," Old Frisian bōte "atonement, compensation," Old Saxon bōta "remedy, aid, deliverance," Old High German buoza "amendment, remedy, penance, punishment," Old Icelandic bót "remedy, atonement, compensation," Gothic bota "usefulness, profit"; *bat- perhaps going back to Indo-European *bhHd-, zero-grade of a root *bheHd-, whence also Sanskrit bhadráḥ "fortunate, blessed, delightful," Avestan hubaδra- "fortunate" (< *bhoHd-ro, with loss of before an unaspirated voiced stop);

  * Note : As do other European languages, Germanic forms the comparative and superlative degrees of the adjective meaning "good" from a different base than the positive degree; compare {good:1|good:1}, {best:1|best:1}. This Indo-European etymology follows G. Kroonen, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Brill, 2009), which for the rule of loss refers to A. Lubotsky, "Gr. pḗgnumi : Skt. pajrá- and loss of laryngeals before mediae in Indo-Iranian," Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft, Band 40 (1981), pp. 133-38. Other opinions, however, are not in favor of the connection, or agnostic. See A. L. Lloyd and O. Springer, Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen, Band 1, s.v. baz, where the history of the etymology is traced. M. Mayrhofer maintained that Sanskrit bhadrá- should rather be connected with bhándate "is praised, receives praise" (see: Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindoarischen, Band 2 [Heidelberg, 1996], p. 244).;

[Adjective]  | "good" | \ ˈgu̇d \

1: of a favorable character or tendency

2: bountiful, fertile

3: handsome, attractive

Origin: before 12th century ;

 Middle English, from Old English gōd; akin to Old High German guot good, Middle High German gatern to unite, Sanskrit gadhya what one clings to;

[Verb]  | "better" 

1: to make better : such as

2: to make more tolerable or acceptable

3: to make more complete or perfect

Origin: before 12th century ;

 Middle English betteren, bettren "to improve, remedy, have the advantage," going back to Old English beterian "to improve, make better," going back to Germanic *batizōjan- (whence also Old Frisian beteria, betria "to atone, improve," Old Saxon betaron "to mend," Old High German bezzirōn "to improve, enrich," Old Icelandic betra "to improve"), verbal derivative of *batizōn {see: |better:1|better:1};

  * Note : In English and other Germanic languages this verb has been augmented by re-formation from the comparative adjective. Note that evidence for the English verb is practically non-existent between Old English and ca. 1400.;

[Adverb]  | "better" 

1: in a more excellent manner

2: to greater advantage : preferably

3: to a higher or greater degree

Origin: 12th century ;

 Middle English bettre, betere, derivative of betere {see: |better:1|better:1};

  * Note : This formation replaces early Modern English, Middle English, and Old English bet, the original Germanic adverbial counterpart to {better:1|better:1};

[Adverb]  | "well" 

1: in a good or proper manner : justly, rightly

2: satisfactorily with respect to conduct or action

3: in a kindly or friendly manner

Origin: before 12th century ;

 Middle English wel, going back to Old English, going back to Germanic *welō (whence Old Frisian wol, wel, wal "in a good manner," Old Saxon wola, wela, wala, Old High German wola, Old Norse vel, val), from an adjectival derivative of the base of *weljan- "to want" {mat|will:1|};

[Adverb]  | "good" 

1: well

2: —used as an intensive

Origin: 13th century ;

 See: {good:1|good:1|};

[Noun]  | "better" 

1: something better

2: a superior especially in merit or rank

3: advantage, victory

Origin: before 12th century ;

 Middle English bettre, betere, going back to Old English betere, noun derivative of betera, betra {see: |better:1|better:1};

[Noun]  | "bet*tor" | \ ˈbe-tər \

1: one that bets

Origin: 1616 ;

[Noun]  | "better half" 

1: spouse

Origin: circa 1586 ;

[Auxiliary verb]  | "better" 

1: had better

Origin: 1817 ;

 By ellipsis from had better;

[Adjective]  | "better" 

[Adjective]  | "good" 

[Adjective]  | "better-off" 

[Adverb]  | "better" 

[Adverb]  | "good" 

[Adverb]  | "well" 

[Noun]  | "better" 

[Noun]  | "bettor" 

[Noun]  | "better half" 

[Verb]  | "better"