English
La Brea
La Brea comes from Spanish La Brea.
- Spanishc. 1500–presentLa Brea
- Englishtodaysame form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Spanishc. 1500–presentLa Brea
- Englishtodaysame form
A compound of la ‘the’ + brea ‘tar, pitch’
Proto-Germanic *brēdô ‘flesh, muscle’
Old Norse bráð ‘tar, pitch’
Old Norse bræða ‘to melt, make oil, tar, pitch’
Old French broier ‘to tar, pitch’
French brayer ‘to coat with pitch’
Spanish brear ‘to dip in tar (see embrear)’
Spanish brea ‘tar, pitch’
Every English word from Spanish La Brea
Today it means
name A neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Spanish La Brea / La Brea