"B" Word Origins

bream

Old French

From Old French bresme, tracing back through Frankish to a Germanic word possibly meaning "shining" or "glittery," describing the fish's silvery scales.

breast

Old English

From Old English brēost, from a prehistoric Germanic root related to swelling.

breastbone

Origin

From Middle English brust-bon, brestbon, from Old English brēostbān (“breastbone”), equivalent to breast + bone.

breastfeed

Origin

A compound of breast and feed.

breastfeeding

Origin

From breast + feeding.

breastpin

Origin

From breast + pin.

breastplate

Middle English

From Middle English brestplate, a compound of breast and plate.

breastshot

Origin

From breast + shot.

breastwork

Origin

From breast + work.

breath

Old English

From Old English brǣþ, originally referring to a vapor or scent, related to a Germanic word for exhaled vapor.

breathalyzer

Origin

A blend of breath and analyzer, originally a trademarked brand name.

breathe

Middle English

From Middle English brethen, derived from breth ("breath").

breathed

Origin

From breath + the adjective suffix -ed.

breather

Origin

From breathe + the agent suffix -er.

breathless

Origin

From breath + the suffix -less ("without").

breathlessly

Origin

From breathless + the adverb suffix -ly.

breathtaking

Origin

A straightforward compound of "breath" and "taking" — literally something so striking it takes your breath away.

bredrin

Origin

From brethren.

bree

Old English

From Old English brēġ ("eyelid"), a relative of the word "brow."

breech

Old English

From Old English brēċ, the plural of a word meaning leg-covering or trousers — the same root that gives us "breeches".

breechcloth

Origin

From breech + cloth.

breechclout

Origin

From breech + clout.

breeches

Old English

From Old English brēċ, "leggings" or "underpants" — the same ancient root as "breech".

breed

Old English

From Old English brēdan, related to a root meaning "to warm" or "to brood" — the original sense was close to hatching eggs by keeping them warm.

breedbate

Origin

From breed + bate.

breeder

Origin

From breed + -er. Cognate with West Frisian brieder (“one who breeds, breeder”), Dutch broeier (“brooder, vagrant”).

breeding

Origin

From the verb "breed" plus the suffix "-ing", covering both the literal act of reproduction and, by extension, upbringing.

breeze

French

Likely from an old nautical word for a light wind, borrowed into English via sailors' language from a Spanish or French source — the exact trail is disputed by etymologists.

breezy

Origin

From "breeze" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-y", first describing windy weather and later extended to a light, easygoing personality.

Bremen

German

Borrowed from German Bremen.

Bremer

German

From German Bremer, built from the city name Bremen plus the agent-forming suffix -er, the same pattern used in "Berliner" or "Londoner".

bren

Middle English

From Middle English brennen, itself from Old Norse brenna — a doublet of the modern word "burn," which comes from the same root.

Brenda

Old Norse

Possibly from Old Norse brandr ("sword"); by folk etymology later treated as a feminine form of Brendan.

Brendan

Irish

Anglicized from Irish Bréanainn, ultimately from a Celtic root meaning "preeminent, outstanding."

Brenna

Origin · 1970

An American coinage used since the 1970s, possibly based on the male name Brennan or Brendan.

Brennan

Irish

From Irish Ó Braonáin, "descendant of Braonán," a diminutive of braon ("moisture, drop").

Brent

Old English

From Old English brant ("steep"), referring to hills.

Brentwood

Middle English

From Middle English brende ("burnt") plus wode ("wood").

Brer

Origin

A shortening of "brother."

Brest

Proto-Celtic

From Breton Brest, ultimately from a Proto-Celtic word meaning "hill."

brethren

Origin

An archaic plural of "brother" that survived in religious and ceremonial English even after "brothers" became the everyday plural.

Breton

Latin

From French Breton, going back through Old French to Latin Brittō — the same root that eventually gave English "Briton".

brett

Greek

Shortened from the scientific genus name Brettanomyces, itself from Greek roots roughly meaning "British fungus".

breviate

Origin

First attested in 1581; borrowed from Latin breviātum, from the perfect passive participle of breviō (“shorten, abridge”), see -ate (noun-forming suffix).

brevity

Latin

From Latin brevitas, from brevis meaning short.

brew

Old English

From Old English brēowan, an ancient Germanic word for boiling or fermenting liquid, related distantly to the English word "burn".

brewer

Middle English

From Middle English brewere, simply "one who brews", built from "brew" plus the agent suffix "-er".

brewery

Dutch

Borrowed from Dutch brouwerij, matching "brew" with the "-ery" ending used for places of production, like "bakery".