English
fractus
Fractus comes from Latin fractus ‘broken, shattered, having been broken’, from frangō ‘break, fragment’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrangō‘break, fragment’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfractus‘broken, shattered, having been broken’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrangō‘break, fragment’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfractus‘broken, shattered, having been broken’
- Englishearliest quotation 2013same form
Earliest quotation: 2013, C. Donald Ahrens, Robert Henson: “FIGURE 5.17[…]The ragged-appearing clouds beneath the nimbostratus are stratus…”
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 ‘break, fragment’
fragile, refrain, fragment, fret, infringe, diffraction, infraction, refractory, refraction, 17 more
Today it means
noun A cloud species which consists of broken shreds of cloud; scud.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- / fractus