Etymograph

English

brew

Brew comes from Middle English brewen ‘to brew’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrewh₁-‘to brew’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brewwaną‘to brew’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*breuwan‘to brew’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150brēowan‘to brew’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brewen‘to brew’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598brew

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrewh₁-‘to brew’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brewwaną‘to brew’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*breuwan‘to brew’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150brēowan‘to brew’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brewen‘to brew’
  6. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598brew

Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “There is some ill a-brewing towards my rest”.

The story

It may be related to English barley.

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- ‘to brew’

burn, brand, purple, bread, bourbon, bourne, fervor, broth, fervent, ferment, brunt, brim, effervescent, porphyry, purpura, broil, briny, bren, 40 more

Another origin of brew

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₃bʰrúHs‘brow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brūwō‘eyebrow’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150bru‘eyebrow’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brewe‘eyebrow’
  5. Englishtodaybrew

Today it means

verb To make tea or coffee by mixing tea leaves or coffee beans with hot water.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- / brew

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