𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽

Forms

𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (brikan), a strong verb of the fourth class.^[1][2][3] Miller gives the principal parts as brikan, brak, *brekum, -brukans, the preterite plural being unattested and reconstructed.^[4] Krause notes that the liquid stands before the root vowel in this verb, and that of its principal parts only brak and the participle gabrukans are recorded, so that the preterite plural may be set up as *brekum, matching Latin fregimus.^[5] The recorded forms of the simple verb are 𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌺 (brak, twice), 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌼 (brikam) and 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌹𐌸 (brikiþ, once each).^[6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”),^[7][8] which Kroonen traces to a thematic present Proto-Indo-European *bʰrég-e-.^[8] The West Germanic cognates are Old English brecan, Old Frisian breka, Old Saxon brekan and Old High German brehhan.^[8][9] Lehmann sets up a PIE root Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”), beside a parallel root for "crash", and connects Latin frangō (“to break”), whose perfect fregi matches the Germanic preterite plural, and possibly a Sanskrit compound meaning "breaking out of the mountains" in the Rigveda (10.68.1); he rejects the comparison of forms without -r-.^[10] Feist and Holthausen give the same Latin and Sanskrit comparisons.^[11][12] Orel adds Lithuanian bróžti (“to whisk”).^[9]

Attestation

The simple verb occurs four times in the Wulfila project's count, in 1 Corinthians, Galatians and 2 Timothy, two records in manuscript A and two in B (Galatians 1:23 is in both).^[6] Köbler counts three attestations.^[13] In canonical order the first is 1 Corinthians 10:16 in A.^[6] Köbler gives the Greek equivalents Ancient Greek κλᾶν (klân), πορθεῖν (portheîn) and ἀθλεῖν (athleîn).^[13] PROIEL aligns it once each with κλάω (kláō) and πορθέω (porthéō).^[14] At 1 Corinthians 10:16: 𐌷𐌻𐌰𐌹𐍆𐍃 𐌸𐌰𐌽𐌴𐌹 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌼 (hlaifs þanei brikam), "the bread that we break".^[15]

Meanings

1. to break (for Ancient Greek κλᾶν (klân))^[10][16]
2. to destroy, or to try to destroy (for Ancient Greek πορθεῖν (portheîn)); Streitberg reads the imperfect at Galatians 1:23 as conative^[1][16]
3. to struggle, fight, contend (for Ancient Greek ἀθλεῖν (athleîn))^[10][7][16]

Word family

• 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (gabrikan, “to break, throw down”)
• 𐌿𐍆𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽 (ufbrikan, “to spurn, reject”)
• 𐌿𐌽𐌿𐍆𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽𐌳𐍃 (unufbrikands, “not giving offence”)
• 𐌿𐍃𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌺𐌽𐌰𐌽 (usbruknan, “to be broken off”)
• 𐌲𐌰𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌺𐌰 (gabruka, “fragment, crumb”)

Borrowings into other languages

• Spanish: bregar^[7]
• Portuguese: brigar^[7]
• Catalan: bregar^[7]
• Galician: breigar^[7]
• Asturian: bregar^[7]
• Venetan: sbregar^[7]
• Italian: briga and brigare, marked uncertain^[7]
• Slovene: briga and brigati^[7]
• Bulgarian: брига (briga)^[7]
• Finnish: rikkoa (“to break”), explained by Öhmann as a Gothic loan matching brikan sound for sound;^[17] LÄGLOS finds this plausible, while SKES doubts a Germanic source^[17]

Related words

• 𐌱𐍂𐌰𐌺𐌾𐌰 (brakja, “wrestling match, fight”)

References

1. ^ a b Streitberg, Wilhelm (1910), Die gotische Bibel, II: Gotisch-griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. brikan
2. ^ Braune, Wilhelm; Heidermanns, Frank (2004), Gotische Grammatik, mit Lesestücken und Wörterverzeichnis, 20th ed., Sammlung kurzer Grammatiken germanischer Dialekte A 1, Tübingen: Niemeyer, p. 273
3. ^ Lambdin, Thomas O. (2006), An Introduction to the Gothic Language, Eugene, Or.: Wipf and Stock, p. 172
4. ^ Miller, D. Gary (2019), The Oxford Gothic Grammar, Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 183
5. ^ Krause, Wolfgang (1963), Handbuch des Gotischen, 2nd ed., München: Beck, p. § 229
6. ^ a b c De Herdt, Tom (2004–2026), Project Wulfila: digital edition of the Gothic Bible with lemma and morphological annotation, data release 2026-09-03, wulfila.be
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. 𐌱𐍂𐌹𐌺𐌰𐌽
8. ^ a b c Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 75
9. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 55
10. ^ a b c Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the third edition of Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache by Sigmund Feist, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. *brikan
11. ^ Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. brikan
12. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Gotisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Winter, p. s.v. brikan
13. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. brikan*
14. ^ Haug, Dag T. T. et al., PROIEL Treebank: The Gothic Bible (gothic-nt), 2023 release, Pragmatic Resources in Old Indo-European Languages, University of Oslo
15. ^ De Herdt, Tom (2004–2026), Project Wulfila: digital edition of the Gothic Bible with lemma and morphological annotation, data release 2026-09-03, wulfila.be, p. 1Cor 10:16
16. ^ a b c Balg, G. H. (1887–1889), A Comparative Glossary of the Gothic Language, with Especial Reference to English and German, Mayville, Wis.: the author, p. 60
17. ^ a b Kylstra, A. D.; Hahmo, Sirkka-Liisa; Hofstra, Tette; Nikkilä, Osmo (1991–2012), Lexikon der älteren germanischen Lehnwörter in den ostseefinnischen Sprachen, 3 vols, Amsterdam / Atlanta / New York: Rodopi, p. 156