Where does “cliffbrake” come from?

cliffbrake (English) comes from English brake, from Middle Low German brake, from Proto-Germanic *brekan, from Proto-Germanic brekaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰrēǵ- — to shine, shimmer.

cliffbrake (English): Any fern in the genus Pellaea

Definitions

  1. Any fern in the genus Pellaea

Ancestry of “cliffbrake”, step by step

cliffbrake traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English brake

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishbrakeA fern; bracken; A thicket, or an area overgrown...
2Middle Low Germanbrakestump, branch; nose ring, curb, flax brake
3Proto-Germanic*brekan—
4Proto-Germanicbrekanąto break
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrēǵ-to shine, shimmer

via English Cliff

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishCliffA diminutive of the male given name Clifford or Clifton
2Middle EnglishclyfA cliff; a heavily sloped hillside or...
3Old Englishclifa cliff; a group of rocks or crag
4Proto-West Germanic*klib—
5Proto-Germanicklibącliff, rock
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰrēǵ- →Every word from Proto-Germanic brekaną →Every word from Proto-Germanic *brekan →