Etymograph

English

brie

Brie comes from French brie, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to rise up, ascend’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-1‘to rise up, ascend’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentbrie1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1996brie1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English brie
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1996, Paul Heaton, Don't Marry Her: “And your socks smell of angels / But your…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-Wiktionary, English brie‘to rise up, ascend’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Frenchc. 1600–presentbrieWiktionary, English brie
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1996brieWiktionary, English brie. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1996, Paul Heaton, Don't Marry Her: “And your socks smell of angels / But your…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to rise up, ascend’

force, comfortable, fort, berry, borough, burgess, bourgeois, barrow, burglar, burgh, forcible, burg, brahmin, borgo, bergh, bourguignon, brahmana, broch, 21 more

Today it means

noun An originally French variety of soft cheese made from cow's milk.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “brie”. 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 *bʰerǵʰ- / brie

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