English
broke
Ablauted form of break.
The story
Ablauted form of break.
Another origin of broke
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- 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’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150gebroc‘fragment’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500broce
- Englishtodaybroke
Today it means
verb Financially ruined, bankrupt.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / broke