English
fragile
Fragile comes from Latin fragilis ‘fragile, brittle, easily broken, breakable’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrangōas frangere, root‘to break’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfragilis‘fragile, brittle, easily broken, breakable’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fragile
- Englishtodaysame form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfrangōas frangere, root‘to break’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfragilis‘fragile, brittle, easily broken, breakable’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600fragile
- Englishtodaysame form
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’
break, broken, broke, brigade, brake, bracket, fraction, bray, breech, suffrage, brogan, brogue, 35 more
through Latin frangō ‘to break’
fracture, refrain, fret, fragment, infringe, diffraction, infraction, fractal, refractory, refraction, 16 more
through Latin fragilis ‘fragile, brittle, easily broken, breakable’
Today it means
adj Easily broken, not sturdy; of delicate material.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- / fragile