Etymograph

English

break

Break comes from Middle English breken ‘to break up or split’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-1‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrégeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brekaną1‘to break’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brekan1‘to break’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150brecan1‘to break’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500breken1‘to break up or split’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1576break1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English break
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1576, George Gascoigne: “Pampered jades […] which need nor break nor bit.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-Wiktionary, English break‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrégetiWiktionary, English breakreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brekanąWiktionary, English break‘to break’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brekanWiktionary, English break‘to break’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150brecanWiktionary, English break‘to break’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brekenWiktionary, English break‘to break up or split’
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1576breakWiktionary, English break. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1576, George Gascoigne: “Pampered jades […] which need nor break nor bit.”

Word family

English words that share an ancestor with break, grouped by the ancestor they share, most familiar first.

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’

  • fraction ← fraccioun ← fraccion ← fractio
  • fragile ← fragilis ← frangō
  • bracket ← *braget ← braguette ← brague ← braga
  • fragment ← fragmentum ← frangō
  • fracture ← frāctūra ← frāctūrus ← frangō
  • refrain ← refraindre ← frangō
  • suffrage ← suffrāgium ← suffrāgō
  • frail ← frele ← fraile ← fragilis ← *fragelis
  • infringe ← īnfringō ← frangō
  • fractal ← fractus ← frangō
  • bray ← brayen ← breier
  • fret ← frēten ← freté ← frangō

54 more relatives in the full family tree

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Today it means

verb To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture or crack, by a process that cannot easily be reversed for reassembly.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “break”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- / break