braze

braze · verb¹

1. Old English · inherited frombrasian
2. Middle English · inherited frombrasen
3. English todaybraze

From Middle English brasen, from Old English brasian, bræsian (“to cover with brass”), from bræs (“brass”).

braze · verb, noun²

1. Old Norse · derived frombrasa“to braze, harden with fire”
2. Old French · derived frombraser“to burn”
3. French · borrowed frombraser“to solder, weld”
4. English todaybraze

1580s, "to expose to the action of fire", perhaps from French braser (“to solder, weld”), though the sense evolution is difficult to explain. Perhaps the English word is older, being unrecorded in Middle English but borrowed from Old French braser (“to burn”), which fits the meaning more closely. Old French braser derives from Old Norse brasa (“to braze, harden with fire”). Also possible is that the Middle English and English words were borrowed directly from Old Norse.

Words from the same roots