Where does “brief” come from?

brief (Afrikaans) comes from Dutch brief, from Middle Dutch brief, from Latin brevis, from Proto-Italic *breɣʷis, from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰus, from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ- — short.

brief (Afrikaans): letter

Definitions

  1. letter

Ancestry of “brief”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchbriefletter
2Middle Dutchbrief—
3Latinbrevisshort, small, little, narrow; brief, short;...
4Proto-Italic*breɣʷis—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanmréǵʰusshort; brief
6Proto-Indo-Europeanmreǵʰ-short

Words derived from “brief”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰus →Every word from Proto-Italic *breɣʷis →