Etymograph

English

breath

Breath comes from Old English brǣþ ‘odor, scent, stink, exhalation, vapor’, from Proto-West Germanic *brāan ‘to smoke, fume’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreh₁-reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brāan‘to smoke’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*brāþi‘vapour’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150brǣþ‘odor’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500breeth
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604breath

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreh₁-reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brāan‘to smoke’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*brāþi‘vapour’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150brǣþ‘odor’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500breeth
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1603–1604breath

Earliest quotation: c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure: “an after dinner's breath”.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁-

breed, brood, brawn, 2 more

Today it means

noun The act or process of breathing.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- / breath

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