brecan

Forms

brecan (strong class 4; third-person singular present bricþ, past singular bræc, past plural brǣcon)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *brekan, from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”).^[1][2] The strong verb has cognates in Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (brikan), Old Frisian breka, Old Saxon brekan and Old High German brehhan.^[2][3][4]

Kroonen reconstructs a present *bʰrég-e- from the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”), and sees in Latin frangō (“to break”) a nasal present to the same root.^[2] Orel and Holthausen also compare the Latin verb.^[3][4] Holthausen names the related Old English nouns brec and bryce.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb is first recorded in the Pastoral Care of 890×897, of a weir: se se ðe ðone wer bricð, & ðæt wæter utforlæt, se bið fruma ðæs geflites “he who breaks the weir and lets the water out is the beginning of the strife”.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Bosworth and Toller set out a transitive sense, “to break, to burst, to violate”, used of solid things broken to pieces, of buildings demolished, and of laws, peace and promises broken.^[7][8] The laws use it of breaking into a house or an enclosure and of breaking a limb, and figuratively of breaking a law or a fast.^[9] In the poetry it also means “to press, to torment” (hine fyrwyt bræc “curiosity pressed him”) and intransitively “to burst forth”.^[10] The Andreas uses it of ships ploughing the sea.^[11]

The word lived on as Middle English breken, now English break.^[12][13]

Timeline

• 890×897 – se se ðe ðone wer bricð “he who breaks the weir” in the Pastoral Care.^[5][6]
• s. x¹ or x²/⁴ – þæt mon þæt fæsten bræce “that the fortress be breached” in the Old English Orosius.^[14][6]
• s. x² – brecað ofer bæðweg “they break over the sea” in the Andreas (Vercelli Book).^[15][6]
• s. x/xi – wære ne bræce “should break the treaty” in the Beowulf manuscript.^[16][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. to break, shatter, burst.^[7][17]
2. to violate (a law, a treaty, a promise).^[7][9]
3. to break into, storm (a house, a city).^[7][9]
4. (poetic) to press, torment; to burst forth.^[10]

Word family

• ābrecan
• forbrecan
• ġebrecan
• tōbrecan
• þurhbrecan
• bryce
• ǣwbryce

Descendants

• Middle English breken (→ English break; Middle Scots brek; Middle Scots breke)^[1]

Related words

• brec

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 75
3. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 55
4. ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 33
5. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 499
6. ^ a b c d e Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
7. ^ a b c d Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 121
8. ^ Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. Suppl. 104
9. ^ a b c Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 27
10. ^ a b Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. brecan
11. ^ North, Richard; Bintley, Michael D. J., eds. (2016), Andreas: An Edition, Liverpool: Liverpool University Press (glossary), p. s.v. brecan
12. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
13. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
14. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 249
15. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 704
16. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 344
17. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. brecan