Etymograph

English

friable

Friable comes from French friable ‘crumbly’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- ‘to cut’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreyH-‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰriH-o-sreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*friosreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfriō‘to crumble’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfriābilis
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentfriable‘crumbly’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1890same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreyH-‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰriH-o-sreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*friosreconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfriō‘to crumble’
  5. Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEfriābilis
  6. Frenchc. 1600–presentfriable‘crumbly’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1890same form

Earliest quotation: 1890, James George Frazer: “So while two men under his directions were digging…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- ‘to cut’

fray, frivolous, frivolity, briny, 4 more

through Latin friō ‘to crumble’

friction, frayed, fricative, 3 more

Today it means

adj Easily broken into small fragments, crumbled, or reduced to powder.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- / friable

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