Where does “breeze” come from?

Breeze comes from Old English brēosa, whose original meaning is unknown.

breeze (English): A light, gentle wind; Any activity that is easy,...

Definitions

  1. A light, gentle wind; Any activity that is easy,...

Ancestry of “breeze”, step by step

breeze traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Spanish brisa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Spanishbrisabreeze
2Old Spanishbriza
3Frenchbrisebreeze; first-person singular present indicative...
4FrenchbriserTo break; snap; To become broken; snap
5Middle Frenchbriser
6Old Frenchbrisierto break (cause damage to), bust
7Frankishbristanto break to pieces, split, shatter; to break,...
8Proto-Germanicbrestanąto burst, break, sunder, split, crack
9Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰres‑to burst; break; crack; crackle

via French braise

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchbraiseembers; cash, dough
2Middle Frenchbresze
3Old Frenchbrezeember, burning coal, gleed
4Gothic𐌱𐍂𐌰𐍃𐌰glowing coal
5Proto-Germanicbrasōgleed, crackling coal; fire, pyre

via Middle English brese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbrese
2Old Englishbrēosabreese; gadfly
3Proto-Germanicbremusīgadfly; horsefly
4Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰerem-to make a noise, buzz, hum

Words derived from “breeze

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰres‑