beetle

From Middle English bitle, from Old English bitula, bitela, bītel, from Proto-Germanic *bitilô, *bītilaz — formed from bite plus the suffix -le, meaning "that which tends to bite."

The word has stayed remarkably close to its roots: it named a biting creature in Old English and still names one today.

It's cognate with Old High German bicco, Danish bille, Icelandic bitil ("a bite, bit"), and Faroese bitil ("small piece, bittock") — all echoes of the same biting root.