Where does “brim” come from?

Brim comes from Old English brim, from Frankish brahsima, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰer-, a root meaning to carry or bear.

brim (English): The sea; ocean; water; flood; An edge or border;...

Definitions

  1. The sea; ocean; water; flood; An edge or border;...

Ancestry of “brim”, step by step

brim traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English brimmen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbrimmen—
2Middle Englishbrem—
3Old Englishbrēmefamous, glorious, noble
4Finnishbromibromine
5Frenchbromépast participle of bromer; brominated
6New LatinBromus—
7Ancient Greekβρόμοςoat; wild oat, slender oat
8Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrem-to make noise
9Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰer-to bear, carry

via English brimstone

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbrimstoneThe sulfur of Hell; Hell, damnation; Sulfur; A...
2Middle Englishbrymstonsulphur; The burning sulphur of Hell
3Old Englishbrynstānbrimstone

Words derived from “brim”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰer- →