English
brehon
Brehon comes from Irish breitheamh ‘judge’, from Old Irish breth ‘judgment’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-1‘to bear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰértis1‘the act of carrying, bearing’reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*britis2‘act of carrying, bearing’reconstructed
- Old Irishc. 600–900breth3‘judgment’
- Old Irishc. 600–900brithem3‘judge’
- Irishc. 1200–presentbreitheamh3‘judge’
- Englishearliest quotation 1999brehon3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Celtic *britis
- 2 Wiktionary, Old Irish breth
- 3 Wiktionary, English brehon
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, Seamus Heaney, Beowulf: “[T]he brehon handed him a hilted weapon, a rare…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰer-Wiktionary, Proto-Celtic *britis‘to bear’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰértisWiktionary, Proto-Celtic *britis‘the act of carrying, bearing’reconstructed
- Proto-Celticc. 1300–800 BCE*britisWiktionary, Old Irish breth‘act of carrying, bearing’reconstructed
- Old Irishc. 600–900brethWiktionary, English brehon‘judgment’
- Old Irishc. 600–900brithemWiktionary, English brehon‘judge’
- Irishc. 1200–presentbreitheamhWiktionary, English brehon‘judge’
- Englishearliest quotation 1999brehonWiktionary, English brehon. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, Seamus Heaney, Beowulf: “[T]he brehon handed him a hilted weapon, a rare…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- ‘to bear’
different, offer, bar, difference, transfer, bear, reference, suffer, extraordinary, prefer, fortune, relative, broad, burden, translation, differ, relate, barn, bread, barrel, translate, fury, relation, bark, frustration, referendum, fertility, borne, bore, fertile, referee, baron, berth, extravagant, barrow, breeze, embargo, phosphate, defer, infer, 157 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰértis ‘the act of carrying, bearing’
Today it means
noun A judge or lawgiver in ancient Celtic Ireland.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “brehon”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Celtic *britis, Old Irish breth. 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 *bʰer- / brehon