English
bruin
Bruin comes from Middle Dutch bruun ‘brown’, and perhaps goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerH-1‘grey, brown’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brūnaz2‘brown’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brūn3‘brown’reconstructed
- Old Dutchc. 500–1150*brūn3‘brown’reconstructed
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500bruun4‘brown’
- Englishearliest quotation 1989bruin4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *brūnaz
- 2 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *brūn
- 3 Wiktionary, Middle Dutch bruun
- 4 Wiktionary, English bruin
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala: “The mother sought the one gone / astray, for…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerH-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *brūnaz‘grey, brown’uncertain
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brūnazWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *brūn‘brown’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brūnWiktionary, Middle Dutch bruun‘brown’reconstructed
- Old Dutchc. 500–1150*brūnWiktionary, Middle Dutch bruun‘brown’reconstructed
- Middle Dutchc. 1150–1500bruunWiktionary, English bruin‘brown’
- Englishearliest quotation 1989bruinWiktionary, English bruin. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, Elias Lönnrot, The Kalevala: “The mother sought the one gone / astray, for…”
The story
Bruin is the bear, named for his brown color.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- ‘grey, brown’
bone, boring, berry, bore, interfere, beaver, 12 more
through Proto-Germanic *brūnaz ‘brown’
through Proto-West Germanic *brūn ‘brown’
Today it means
noun A folk name for a bear, especially the brown bear, Ursus arctos.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “bruin”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *brūnaz, Proto-West Germanic *brūn, Middle Dutch bruun. 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 *bʰerH- / bruin