Where does “brick” come from?

Brick comes from Middle Dutch bricke, of unknown origin.

brick (English): A hardened rectangular block of mud, clay etc.,...

Definitions

  1. A hardened rectangular block of mud, clay etc.,...

Ancestry of “brick”, step by step

brick traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English brik

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbrik—
2Middle Low Germanbricke—
3Proto-West Germanicbrekanto break
4Proto-Germanicbrekanąto break
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrēǵ-to shine, shimmer

via Middle English bricke

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbricke—
2Middle Dutchbricke—

via Middle English bryke

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbrykebrick

Words derived from “brick”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰrēǵ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic brekaną →Every word from Proto-West Germanic brekan →