bree

bree · noun¹

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*brēwō
2. Old English · inherited frombrēġ“eyelid”
3. Middle English · inherited frombrewe
4. English todaybree

From Middle English brewe, bre, bregh, from Old English brēġ (“eyelid”) (Anglian dialect). Compare West Saxon brǣw, brēaw, brēaġ (“eyelid”), from Proto-Germanic *brēwō. Cognate with Dutch (wenk)brauw, German Braue. Compare brae from the same source. Apparently related to brow.

bree · noun²

1. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*brīw“porridge; mash”
2. Old English · inherited frombrīw
3. Middle English · inherited frombre
4. English todaybree

From Middle English bre, breie (“broth; gravy”), apparently from Old English brīw, brīġ (“pottage; porridge”), from Proto-West Germanic *brīw (“porridge; mash”), whence also German Brei, Dutch brij. Alternatively, the word could be a cognate of German Brühe (“broth”), from Middle High German brüeje, from the verb brüejen (“to scald, boil”), from Proto-Germanic *brōaną, whence modern German brühen, Dutch broeien, Middle Low German brȫjen. This is less likely, however, since the verb is not attested in English nor in Old Norse. Both paths eventually lead to the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰrewh₁- (“to boil, toss, cook, brew”), whence also English broth and brew.

Bree · proper noun³

Shortened.

Bree · proper noun⁴

1. Dutch · borrowed fromBree
2. Irish · derived fromÓ Breaghaigh
3. English todayBree

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Breaghaigh. This surname is also borrowed from Dutch Bree.

Words from the same roots