What is the origin of the word beer?
The word ale comes from Old English ealu (plural ealoþ), in turn from Proto-Germanic *alu (plural *aluþ), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European base *h₂elut-, which holds connotations of "sorcery, magic, possession, intoxication". The word beer comes from Old English bēor, from Proto-Germanic *beuzą, probably from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeusóm, originally "brewer's yeast, beer dregs", although other theories have been provided connecting the word with Old English bēow, "barley", or Latin bibere, "to drink". On the currency of two words for the same thing in the Germanic languages, the 12th-century Old Icelandic poem Alvíssmál says, "Ale it is called among men, but among the gods, beer."