Etymology

bergh

B3E1R1G2H4

Today it means: A hill. Full definition →

Middle English bergh ← Old English beorg ← Proto-West Germanic *berg
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*bʰerǵʰ-“to rise up, ascend; to be elevated, up high”
  2. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*bʰérǵʰos“hill”
  3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*bergaz“hill, mountain”
  4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*berg
  5. Old English · inherited frombeorg“mountain, hill, mound, barrow, burial place”
  6. Middle English · inherited frombergh
  7. English todaybergh

From Middle English bergh, from Old English beorg (“mountain, hill, mound, barrow, burial place”), from Proto-West Germanic *berg, from Proto-Germanic *bergaz (“hill, mountain”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérǵʰos (“hill”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“to rise up, ascend; to be elevated, up high”). Doublet of berg and barrow; see there for more. Cognates Cognate with Scots burrow (“mound, tumulus, barrow”), North Frisian Bārig, beerch, beeri, beerj, berag, berig, berri, bärj (“mountain”), Saterland Frisian Bierich, Bíerig, Bäirch (“mountain”), West Frisian berch (“mountain”), Cimbrian pèrge (“mountain”), Dutch berg (“mountain”), German Berg (“mountain”), German Low German Barg (“mountain”), Limburgish berg, Bärrech (“hill, mountain”), Luxembourgish Bierg (“mountain”), Mòcheno pèrg (“mountain”), Yiddish באַרג (barg, “mountain”), Danish bjerg (“mountain”), Elfdalian bjärr (“hill, mountain”), Faroese berg, bjarg (“cliff”), bjørg (“cliffs”), Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish berg (“mountain”); also Northern Luri برگ (berg, “mountain”), Polish brzeg (“bank, shore”), Russian бе́рег (béreg, “bank, shore”).

Words from the same roots

Old Englishbeorg all →

barrowBroughtonBarham

Proto-West Germanic*berg all →

berrybarrow

Proto-Germanic*bergaz all →

berrybarrow

Proto-Indo-European*bʰérǵʰos all →

barrow

Proto-Indo-European*bʰerǵʰ- all →

forcerugbyburgessbarrowburrowfortifyphrygianburgher

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.