break

break · verb, noun¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰreg-
2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰrégeti
3. Proto-Germanic*brekaną
4. Proto-West Germanic*brekan
5. Old Englishbrecan
6. Middle Englishbreken
7. English todaybreak

From Middle English breken, from Old English brecan (“to break”), from Proto-West Germanic *brekan, from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”). Doublet of bray. Cognates Cognates of Germanic origin include Scots brek (“to break”), West Frisian brekke (“to break”), Dutch breken (“to break”), Low German breken (“to break”), German brechen (“to break”), French broyer (“to crush, grind”), Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (brikan, “to break, destroy”), Norwegian brek (“desire, yearning”). Also cognate with Albanian brishtë (“fragile”), Latin frangō (“break, break up, shatter”, verb), whence English fracture and other terms – fragile, frail, fraction, and fragment. The modern pronunciation shows an irregular change of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language; contrast this with the development of other words such as speak and wreak.

break · noun, verb²

1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰreg-
2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰrégeti
3. Proto-Germanic*brekaną
4. Proto-West Germanic*brekan
5. Old Englishbrecan
6. Middle Englishbreken
7. Englishbreak
8. Old Englishof-
9. Proto-Germanic*dūnaz?
10. Proto-Indo-European*dewh₂-
11. Proto-Indo-European*duh₂-nós?
12. Proto-Celtic*dūnomder.?
13. Proto-West Germanic*dūnā
14. Old Englishdūne
15. Old Englishofdūne
16. Old Englishadūne
17. Old Englishdūne
18. Middle Englishdoun
19. Englishdown
20. Englishbreak downdeverb.
21. Englishbreakdownclip.
22. English todaybreak

Clipping of breakdown (the percussion break of songs chosen by a DJ for use in hip-hop music) and see also breakdancing.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• late 19th–early 20th c. An error.