Etymologically
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breach

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbɹiːt͡ʃ/ (UK); /ˈbɹit͡ʃ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English breche,[2][3] from a fusion of Old English bræc, a breaking,[2] or bryce (“a fracture, act of breaking”),[4][3] with Old French breche (“breach, opening, gap”), from Frankish or another Germanic source.[4][2][5] Both go back to the Germanic base of break, from PIE Proto-Indo-European *bhreg- (“to break”).[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A breaking, gap: breche 1237–38, and earlier in a proper name (1208);[2] the physical action of breaking, before 1000 in the OED.[7]

Semantic evolution

The breaking of a command, rule or duty is from about 1025 in the OED, already Old English in Etymonline.[7][4] An opening made by breaking is from the late 14th century,[4] and a gap in a fortification from the 15th century.[5] Breach of promise (usually of marriage) is from the 1580s, breach of contract from at least the 1660s and breach of peace from the 1670s.[4] A rupture of friendly relations is from the 1570s.[4] The verb, to make a breach in, is from 1547.[2][3] Of a whale, to leap out of the water, is a later sense.[8]

Timeline

  • before 1000 – a breaking.[7]
  • 1208 – breche, in a name.[2]
  • late 14th century – an opening.[4]
  • 1547 – the verb.[2]
  • 1570s – rupture of relations.[4]
  • 1580s – breach of promise.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An opening, tear or rupture, especially a gap in a wall or fortification.
  2. A violation of a law, obligation or promise.
  3. A break in friendly relations.

Verb

  1. To make a gap in; to break through.
  2. To break an agreement.
  3. Of a whale, to leap from the water.

Word family

  • breacher
  • unbreached
  • breach of contract
  • breach of promise
  • breach of the peace
  • breach of trust

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin