Where does “breakdancing” come from?

breakdancing (English) comes from English break, from Middle English breken, from Old English brecan, from Proto-West Germanic brekan, from Proto-Germanic brekaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰrēǵ- — to shine, shimmer.

breakdancing (English): An urban style of acrobatic street dance that...

Definitions

  1. An urban style of acrobatic street dance that...

Ancestry of “breakdancing”, step by step

breakdancing traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English break

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbreakTo separate into two or more pieces, to fracture...
2Middle Englishbrekento break
3Old Englishbrecanto break; to break into a place
4Proto-West Germanicbrekanto break
5Proto-Germanicbrekanąto break
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrēǵ-to shine, shimmer

via English dancing

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishdancingThe activity of taking part in a dance; A dance...
2EnglishdanceA sequence of rhythmic steps or movements usually...
3Middle EnglishdauncenTo dance, be in a dance; To move about in a rapid...
4Anglo-Normandauncer—

Words derived from “breakdancing”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰrēǵ- →