Etymology

brink

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Today it means: The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge. Full definition →

Middle English brinke ← Old Norse *brenka ← Proto-Germanic *brinkǭ
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰren-“to project”
  2. Proto-Germanic · derived from*brinkǭ
  3. Old Norse · derived from*brenka
  4. Middle English · inherited frombrinke
  5. English todaybrink

From Middle English brinke, brenke, from Old Norse *brenka, brekka, from Proto-Germanic *brinkǭ, *brinkaz (“hill, edge (of land)”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰren- (“to project”). Cognate with Dutch brink (“grassland”), regional German Brink, Icelandic brekka (“slope”); also Tocharian B prenke (“island”), Irish braine (“prow”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.