Etymograph

English

breeding

Breeding comes from Middle English bredynge ‘gestation, incubation, propagation, hatching’, from breden ‘to breed’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreh₁-1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰroh₁tús1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōduz1‘heat, warmth, incubation’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōdijaną1‘to keep warm’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brōdijan1reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150brēdan1‘to bear offspring’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500breden2‘to breed’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bredynge3as breedyng‘gestation, incubation, propagation, hatching’
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599breeding3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Middle English breden
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Middle English bredynge
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English breeding
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “Honest gentlemen, I know not your breeding.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreh₁-Wiktionary, Middle English bredenreconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰroh₁túsWiktionary, Middle English bredenreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōduzWiktionary, Middle English breden‘heat, warmth, incubation’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōdijanąWiktionary, Middle English breden‘to keep warm’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brōdijanWiktionary, Middle English bredenreconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150brēdanWiktionary, Middle English breden‘to bear offspring’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bredenWiktionary, Middle English bredynge‘to breed’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bredyngeWiktionary, English breedingas breedyng‘gestation, incubation, propagation, hatching’
  9. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1599breedingWiktionary, English breeding. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.: “Honest gentlemen, I know not your breeding.”

Formed from breed + -ing

Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- ‘warm’

…

Proto-Germanic *brōdijaną ‘to brood’

Proto-West Germanic *brōdijan

Old English brēdan ‘to bear offspring’

Middle English breden ‘to breed’

English breed

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁-

breath, brawn, 2 more

through Proto-Germanic *brōduz ‘heat, warmth, incubation’

brood, 1 more

through Middle English breden ‘to breed’

bread, 1 more

Another origin of breeding

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreh₁-‘to burn, brew’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōaną‘to warm, brew’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōduz‘warmth, breed’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōdijaną‘to brood’reconstructed
  5. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brōdijandzreconstructedpresent participle of *brōdijaną
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150*brēdendereconstructed
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bredyng
  8. Englishtodaybreeding

Today it means

noun Propagation of offspring through sexual reproduction.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “breeding”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Middle English breden, Middle English bredynge. 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 *bʰreh₁- / breeding

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