Etymograph

English

forbreak

Forbreak comes from Old English forbrecan ‘to break up, break in pieces, violate, destroy’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-1‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frabrekaną1‘to break up’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150forbrecan1‘to break up, break in pieces, violate, destroy’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forbreken1
  5. Englishtodayforbreak1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English forbreak

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-Wiktionary, English forbreak‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*frabrekanąWiktionary, English forbreak‘to break up’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150forbrecanWiktionary, English forbreak‘to break up, break in pieces, violate, destroy’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500forbrekenWiktionary, English forbreak
  5. EnglishtodayforbreakWiktionary, English forbreak

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- ‘to break’

broken, broke, fraction, fragile, brigade, bracket, fragment, fracture, brake, refrain, suffrage, frail, bray, fret, infringe, fractal, breaker, refractory, unbreakable, breech, brogan, brogue, 36 more

Today it means

verb To break in pieces, break up, destroy.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “forbreak”. 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 *bʰreg- / forbreak

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