Etymology · Proto-Germanic
*brekaną
4 English words descend from Proto-Germanic *brekaną, most common first.
- breakTo separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.
- brakeA device used to slow or stop the motion of a wheel, or of a vehicle, usually by friction (although other resistive forces, such as electromagnetic fields or aerodynamic drag, can also be used); also, the controls or apparatus used to engage such a mechanism such as the pedal in a car.
- brayOf an animal (now chiefly of animals related to the ass or donkey, and the camel): to make its cry.
- brackenAny of several coarse ferns, of the genus Pteridium, that form dense thickets; often poisonous to livestock.