English
brainy
Brainy comes from Middle English brayny ‘relating to the brain’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *bragną.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bragnąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bragn‘brain’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bræġn‘brain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brayn‘Brain matter’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500brayny‘relating to the brain’
- Englishearliest quotation 1577brainy
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bragnąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*bragn‘brain’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bræġn‘brain’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brayn‘Brain matter’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500brayny‘relating to the brain’
- Englishearliest quotation 1577brainy
Earliest quotation: 1577, 1548, Thomas Vicary: “You shal vnderstande that there springeth of the brayny…”
Formed from brain + -y
Proto-Germanic *bragną
Proto-West Germanic *bragn
Old English bræġn ‘brain’
Middle English brayn ‘brain’
English brain
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *bragną
Today it means
adj Very intellectually capable.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *bragną / brainy