bree

bree · noun

1. Proto-Germanic*brēwō
2. Old Englishbrēġ“eyelid”
3. Middle Englishbrewe
4. Englishbree

From Middle English brewe, bre, bregh, from Old English brēġ (“eyelid”) (Anglian dialect). Compare West Saxon brǣw, brēaw, brēaġ (“eyelid”), from Proto-Germanic *brēwō. Cognate with Dutch (wenk)brauw, German Braue. Compare brae from the same source. Apparently related to brow.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

bree · noun

1. Proto-West Germanic*brīw“porridge; mash”
2. Old Englishbrīw
3. Middle Englishbre
4. Englishbree

From Middle English bre, breie (“broth; gravy”), apparently from Old English brīw, brīġ (“pottage; porridge”), from Proto-West Germanic *brīw (“porridge; mash”), whence also German Brei, Dutch brij. Alternatively, the word could be a cognate of German Brühe (“broth”), from Middle High German brüeje, from the verb brüejen (“to scald, boil”), from Proto-Germanic *brōaną, whence modern German brühen, Dutch broeien, Middle Low German brȫjen. This is less likely, however, since the verb is not attested in English nor in Old Norse. Both paths eventually lead to the Proto-Indo-European root *bʰrewh₁- (“to boil, toss, cook, brew”), whence also English broth and brew.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Bree · proper noun

Shortened.

Bree · proper noun

1. DutchBree
2. IrishÓ Breaghaigh
3. EnglishBree

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Breaghaigh. This surname is also borrowed from Dutch Bree.

More words from Irish, Dutch