English
housebreak
From house + break, back-formed from housebroken in the animal-training sense.
Proto-Germanic *hūsą
Proto-West Germanic *hūs
Old English hūs ‘dwelling’
Middle English hous ‘house’
English house
Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’
…
Proto-Germanic *brekaną ‘to break’
Proto-West Germanic *brekan ‘to break’
Old English brecan ‘to break’
Middle English breken ‘to break up or split’
English break
The story
From house + break, back-formed from housebroken in the animal-training sense.
Today it means
verb To train an animal to avoid urinating or defecating in the house, except within a litterbox, toilet, or other receptacle.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / housebreak