Etymology

no-brainer

Today it means: An easy or obvious conclusion, decision, solution; something requiring little or no thought. Full definition →

English brain ← Middle English brayn ← Old English bræġn
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The story

  1. Englishno
  2. Proto-Indo-European*mregʰ-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*mrógʰ-n̥ ~ *mrégʰ-n̥-s
  4. Proto-Germanic*bragną
  5. Proto-West Germanic*bragn
  6. Old Englishbræġn
  7. Middle Englishbrayn
  8. Englishbrain
  9. English todayno-brainer

From no + brain + -er.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.