Etymograph

English

broke

Ablauted form of break.

The story

Ablauted form of break.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Another origin of broke

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brekaną‘to break’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brekan‘to break’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150brecan‘to break’
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150gebroc‘fragment’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500broce
  7. Englishtodaybroke

Today it means

verb Financially ruined, bankrupt.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “broke”. 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 / broke

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