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
- Inflexible, liable to break or snap easily under...
Ancestry of “brittle”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -le | A frequentative suffix of verbs, indicating... |
| 2 | Middle English | -el | — |
| 3 | Old French | -el | Suffix that usually denotes a masculine noun |
| 4 | Latin | -ellus | Alternative form of -ulus; "forming masculine... |
| 5 | Latin | -ulus | Used to form a diminutive of a noun, indicating... |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | -olos | — |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | -elos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -e-lós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -lós | Forms agent nouns from verbal roots |
Words derived from “brittle”