Etymology

broke

B3R1O1K5E1

Today it means: Financially ruined, bankrupt. Full definition →

Middle English broce ← Old English gebroc
Ask AI about its historyChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

broke · verb, adjective1

Ablauted form of break.

broke · noun2

  1. Old English · inherited fromgebroc“fragment”
  2. Middle English · inherited frombroce
  3. English todaybroke

From Middle English broce, from Old English gebroc (“fragment”), from brecan (“to break”). Compare broken, past participle of break. Compare also Scots brock (“a scrap of meat or bread”).

broke · verb3

Back-formation from broker.

broke · adjective4

Clipping of broke off.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.