'backbite' originates from the combination of 'back' + 'bite' in English (formed in Middle English), where 'back' meant 'the rear' and 'bite' meant 'to bite'.

'backbite' changed from Middle English forms such as 'bakbiten' (literally 'to bite at the back') and eventually became the modern English word 'backbite'.

Initially it had a more literal sense related to 'biting at the back', but over time it evolved into the figurative sense 'to speak maliciously about someone behind their back'.