Re: why are female dogs called bitches

Hello, celeste. Actually, I think the real question is why that term is applied 
as a slang, derogatory term to female humans.

The actual, primary meaning of the word "bitch" was a female dog, or more 
generally a female canine (female wolf, female coyote, and so forth).
The origin of the term is apparently from old Norse, bikkja, or old German 
bekjon, through Old English, bicce, through Middle English, bicche, to the modern 
English spelling and pronunciation. In various forms, then, this term for a 
female dog has been in use for over a thousand years.

In slang, sometimes for pleasant reasons and some times as derogatory terms about 
other people, there is a tendency to use words that come from terms about 
animals.

So, for example, men have been referred to as pigs ("male chauvinist pigs").

A more pleasant example: children are often referred to as "kids", which actually 
means young goats - parallel to the origin of the term "bitch" given earlier: kid 
is originally from Old Norse, kidh (young goat) or Old German, kidhja, through 
Middle English kide or kyde, also meaning young goat.

Modern English       Middle English     Old English    Old Norse   Old German
bitch                   bicche           bicce          bikkja      bekjon
kid                    kide or kyde      kide           kidh        kidhja