English
braid
Braid comes from Old English breġdan ‘to move quickly, pull, shake, swing, throw…’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrēḱ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrēḱ-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bregdaną‘to flicker, flutter, jerk, tug, twitch, flinch, move, swing’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bregdan‘to move back and forth’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150breġdan‘to move quickly, pull, shake, swing, throw (wrestling), draw (sword), drag’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500braiden
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485braid
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrēḱ-reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bregdaną‘to flicker, flutter, jerk, tug, twitch, flinch, move, swing’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bregdan‘to move back and forth’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150breġdan‘to move quickly, pull, shake, swing, throw (wrestling), draw (sword), drag’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500braiden
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485braid
Earliest quotation: 1470–1485, Capitulum ii: “And than in a brayde Sir Launcelot brake hys…”
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *bregdaną ‘to flicker, flutter, jerk, tug, twitch,…’
Another origin of braid
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰers-‘tip, edge’uncertain
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰérsdʰ-ō ~ *bʰr̥sdʰ-nésuncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burdą‘board, plank’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bredą‘board, plank’reconstructede-grade byform of *burdą
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bredreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bred‘board, plank, tablet, table’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brede‘board, slab’
- Englishtodaybraid
Today it means
verb To make a sudden movement with, to jerk.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰrēḱ- / braid