Where does “bray” come from?
Bray comes from Middle English braien, from Old French braire, from Frankish brekan, from Proto-Germanic brekaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰreg-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰer-.
bray (English): Of an animal (now chiefly of animals related to the ass or donkey, and the camel): to make its cry
Definitions
- Of an animal (now chiefly of animals related to the ass or donkey, and the camel): to make its cry
Ancestry of “bray”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | brayen | To cry out in alarm or sorrow |
| 2 | Old French | braire | to bray; to cry out; to shout out |
| 3 | Vulgar Latin | bragio | I bray, make animal noises; I cry, weep |
| 4 | Gaulish | bragu | — |
| 5 | Welsh | -u | impression, imprint |
| 6 | Middle Welsh | -u | — |
| 7 | Proto-Brythonic | -oβ̃ | Forms verbal nouns, originally from thematic... |