Etymology

brand

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Today it means: A mark or scar made by burning with a hot iron, especially to mark cattle or to classify the contents of a cask. Full definition →

Middle English brand ← Old English brand ← Proto-West Germanic *brand
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brand · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰrewh₁-“to boil; brew”
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*brinnaną“to burn”
  3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*brandaz“flame; flaming; fire-brand; torch; sword”
  4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*brand
  5. Old English · inherited frombrand“fire; flame; burning; torch; sword”
  6. Middle English · inherited frombrand
  7. English todaybrand

From Middle English brand, from Old English brand (“fire; flame; burning; torch; sword”), from Proto-West Germanic *brand, from Proto-Germanic *brandaz (“flame; flaming; fire-brand; torch; sword”), derived from Proto-Germanic *brinnaną (“to burn”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- (“to boil; brew”). Cognate with Scots brand, West Frisian brân (“fire”), Dutch brand, German Brand, Danish brand, Swedish brand (“blaze, fire”), Icelandic brandur, French brand (< Germanic). More distantly cognate with Proto-Slavic *gorěti (“to burn”).

Brand · proper noun2

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*brandaz“sword, firebrand, torch”
  2. English todayBrand

* As an English, Scottish, north German, Dutch, French, and North Germanic surname, from a Germanic personal name derived from Proto-Germanic *brandaz (“sword, firebrand, torch”), as in the second element of Hildebrand. * Also as a German surname, variant of Brandt. * As a Swedish and Danish surname, from brand (“fire”). * As a Jewish surname, from German Brand (“fire”).

Words from the same roots

Proto-Germanic*brandaz all →

brantbrandish

Proto-Germanic*brinnaną all →

burnbren

Proto-Indo-European*bʰrewh₁- all →

brewbourbonbrothferventwinterbournebarmybrinyembroilBorvodefervesce

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.