Where does “breakwall” come from?
breakwall (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.
breakwall (English): A wall, typically built outside of a harbour, that diminishes damage due to battering by the waves
Definitions
- A wall, typically built outside of a harbour, that diminishes damage due to battering by the waves
Ancestry of “breakwall”, step by step
breakwall traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English break
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | break | To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture... |
| 2 | Middle English | breken | to break |
| 3 | Old English | brecan | to break; to break into a place |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | brekan | to break |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | brekaną | to break |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰrēǵ- | to shine, shimmer |
via English Wall
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Wall | The Berlin Wall |
| 2 | Middle English | wall | Alternative form of wale |
| 3 | Old English | weall | wall; fervour; uproar; boiled or mulled wine |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | wallaz | well, spring; wall, rampart, entrenchment |
| 5 | Latin | vallum | wall, rampart, entrenchment |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | wēl- | to see, perceive |