Where does “brittle” come from?

Brittle comes from Middle English brotel, from Old English brytel, with the original meaning uncertain.

brittle (English): Inflexible, liable to break or snap easily under...

Definitions

  1. Inflexible, liable to break or snap easily under...

Ancestry of “brittle”, step by step

brittle traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via English Brit

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBritA British person; A Brit Award, a prize for...
2Middle Englishbrytten—
3Old Englishbrittian—
4Proto-Germanicbrutjanąto break, divide
5Proto-Germanicbreutanąto destroy, crush, break
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrewd-to break

via English Brett

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishBrettBrettanomyces, a yeast genus that is used in...
2EnglishBrettanomyces—

via Middle English britel

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbritel—
2Old Englishbryteleasily broken, brittle

Words derived from “brittle”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰrewd- →Every word from Proto-Germanic breutaną →Every word from Proto-Germanic brutjaną →