English
fract
Fract comes from Latin frāctus ‘broken, shattered, having been broken’, from frangō ‘to break’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrangōas frangere, past participle‘to break’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrāctus‘broken, shattered, having been broken’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599fract
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrangōas frangere, past participle‘to break’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrāctus‘broken, shattered, having been broken’
- Englishearliest quotation 1599fract
Earliest quotation: 1599, William Shakespeare, The Life of Henry the Fift: “Hoſt[ess]. As euer you come of women, come in…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’
break, broken, broke, brigade, brake, bracket, bray, suffrage, breech, frail, brogan, brogue, 37 more
through Latin frangō ‘to break’
fragile, refrain, fragment, fret, infringe, diffraction, infraction, refractory, refraction, 17 more
Today it means
verb To break; to violate.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- / fract