Where does “broken reed” come from?
broken reed (English) comes from English reed, from English Red, from English rede, from Middle English reden, from Old English rǣdan, from Proto-West Germanic rādan, from Proto-Germanic rēdaną, from Proto-Indo-European Hreh₁dʰ- — to fit, to fix, to put together.
broken reed (English): Something or someone very fragile or unreliable
Definitions
- Something or someone very fragile or unreliable
Ancestry of “broken reed”, step by step
broken reed traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English reed
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | reed | Any of various types of tall stiff perennial... |
| 2 | English | Red | A Communist; A supporter of a sports team who... |
| 3 | English | rede | Help, advice, counsel; Decision, a plan; To... |
| 4 | Middle English | reden | to counsel, advise; to study; to read |
| 5 | Old English | rǣdan | to read, interpret; to counsel, advise; plot,... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | rādan | to advise, counsel, help; to devise, decide,... |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | rēdaną | to decide, advise |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | Hreh₁dʰ- | to think; to arrange; to succeed, accomplish |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂reh₁- | to think, reason; to arrange |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂er- | to fit, to fix, to put together |
via English broken
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | broken | past participle of break; Fragmented, in separate... |
| 2 | English | break | To separate into two or more pieces, to fracture... |
| 3 | Middle English | breken | to break |
| 4 | Old English | brecan | to break; to break into a place |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | brekan | to break |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | brekaną | to break |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰrēǵ- | to shine, shimmer |