English
bristle
Bristle comes from Old English bristl ‘a bristle’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰers- ‘top, point’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰers-‘top, point’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰr̥s-tí-sreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burstizreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*burstireconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*burstilureconstructeddiminutive of *bursti
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bristl‘a bristle’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bristil
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596bristle
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰers-‘top, point’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰr̥s-tí-sreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burstizreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*burstireconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*burstilureconstructeddiminutive of *bursti
- Old Englishc. 450–1150bristl‘a bristle’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bristil
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596bristle
Earliest quotation: c. 1596, William Shakespeare, The Life and Death of King Iohn: “Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty / Doth…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰers- ‘top, point’
far, beard, prod, braid, fash, borscht, farro, 16 more
through Proto-Germanic *burstiz
Today it means
noun A stiff or coarse hair on a nonhuman mammal or on a plant.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰers- / bristle