brick

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɹɪk/^[1]

Etymology

It is Middle English bryke, probably borrowed from Middle Dutch bricke (“tile, brick”) or Middle Low German bricke,^[2][3][4] brought by Flemish workmen, who were associated with early brickmaking,^[3][5] and probably reinforced by brique (“a form of loaf”).^[3][4][5] The ultimate origin is unknown;^[3][5] Etymonline and MWU connect it with the root of break, “a piece broken off”.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

1416, as bryke, in Barnhart;^[2] the early 15th century in Etymonline,^[6] about 1440 in the OED, of the material.^[8] Bricklayer is from 1443.^[2]

Semantic evolution

A single block of the material is from about 1525.^[8] A brick-shaped loaf is from 1735, and any brick-shaped block, such as of tea, from 1827.^[8][6] A good, honest fellow is a brick from 1840, probably from the idea of squareness.^[6] Like a ton of bricks is from 1929, earlier like a thousand of bricks (1836).^[6] To drop a brick, to make a tactless remark, is from 1923.^[8] A brick wall as an impenetrable barrier is from 1886.^[6] The verb, to wall up with bricks, is from 1648.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1416 – bryke.^[2]
• 1443 – bricklayer.^[2]
• 1648 – the verb.^[2]
• 1735 – a brick-shaped loaf.^[8]
• 1840 – a good fellow.^[6]
• 1923 – drop a brick.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A rectangular block of baked or sun-dried clay, used in building.
2. Such blocks as a building material.
3. Something shaped like a brick: a brick of ice cream.
4. (informal, dated) A reliable, generous person.

Verb

1. To build, line or close up with bricks.

Word family

• bricky
• bricklike
• brick-and-mortar
• brickbat
• brickfield
• brickkiln
• bricklayer
• bricklaying

Related words

• break
• brickwork

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 d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press