English
break
Break comes from Middle English breken ‘to break up or split’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrégetireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brekaną‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brekan‘to break’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150brecan‘to break’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500breken‘to break up or split’
- Englishearliest quotation 1576break
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrégetireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brekaną‘to break’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brekan‘to break’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150brecan‘to break’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500breken‘to break up or split’
- Englishearliest quotation 1576break
Earliest quotation: 1576, George Gascoigne: “Pampered jades […] which need nor break nor bit.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’
fraction, fragile, bracket, fragment, fracture, refrain, suffrage, frail, infringe, fractal, bray, fret, refractory, breech, brogan, brogue, 37 more
through Proto-Germanic *brekaną ‘to break’
broken, brigade, brake, 4 more
through Old English brecan ‘to break’
through Middle English breken ‘to break up or split’
Today it means
verb To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- / break