Etymology

breed

B3R1E1E1D2

Today it means: To produce offspring sexually; to bear young. Full definition →

Middle English breden ← Old English brēdan ← Proto-West Germanic *brōdijan
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰreh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰroh₁tús
  3. Proto-Germanic*brōduz
  4. Proto-Germanic*brōdijaną
  5. Proto-West Germanic*brōdijan
  6. Old Englishbrēdan
  7. Middle Englishbreden
  8. English todaybreed

Inherited from Middle English breden, from Old English brēdan, from Proto-Germanic *brōdijaną (“to brood”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“warm”). Cognate with Scots brede, breid, Saterland Frisian briede, West Frisian briede, Low German bröden, Dutch broeden, German brüten.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishbreden all →

bread

Old Englishbrēdan all →

bread

Proto-Germanic*brōdijaną all →

breeding

Proto-Indo-European*bʰreh₁- all →

broodbrawn

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.