Etymograph

English

unbreakable

Unbreakable comes from Middle English breken ‘to break up or split’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-1‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrégeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brekaną1‘to break’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brekan1‘to break’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150brecan1‘to break’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500breken1‘to break up or split’
  7. English1500–presentbreak1
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2023unbreakable1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English unbreakable
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Christopher Clarey, Even as He’s Out, Rafael Nadal Will Always Be a Part of the : “His 14 singles titles still look like a typo…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰreg-Wiktionary, English unbreakable‘to break’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰrégetiWiktionary, English unbreakablereconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*brekanąWiktionary, English unbreakable‘to break’reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*brekanWiktionary, English unbreakable‘to break’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150brecanWiktionary, English unbreakable‘to break’
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500brekenWiktionary, English unbreakable‘to break up or split’
  7. English1500–presentbreakWiktionary, English unbreakable
  8. Englishearliest quotation 2023unbreakableWiktionary, English unbreakable. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2023, Christopher Clarey, Even as He’s Out, Rafael Nadal Will Always Be a Part of the : “His 14 singles titles still look like a typo…”

Linked words

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

fraction, fragile, bracket, fracture, fragment, refrain, suffrage, frail, bray, fret, infringe, fractal, refractory, breech, brogan, brogue, 36 more

through Proto-Germanic *brekaną ‘to break’

broken, brigade, brake, 3 more

through Old English brecan ‘to break’

broke, breaker, 2 more

through Middle English breken ‘to break up or split’

break, 1 more

through English break

breakage, bruck, 2 more

Today it means

adj Difficult or impossible to break and therefore able to withstand rough usage.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “unbreakable”. 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- / unbreakable

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