Etymology

The present forms are from Middle High German beten, from Old High German betōn ‎(“to pray”), while the past participle is that of Middle High German bitten, from Old High German bitten ‎(“to request”). Cognate with German beten and bitten respectively, which were merged in many German dialects, too. The Yiddish vowel -e- is regular since open-syllable lengthening was regularly blocked before -t-. (German beten is an irregular or regional form, but compare the frequentative betteln with the normal development.) See also English bid.