Where does “imbroglio” come from?
Imbroglio comes from Italian imbroglio, the noun form of Italian imbrogliare, meaning to confuse or embroil.
imbroglio (English): A complicated situation; an entanglement
Definitions
- A complicated situation; an entanglement
Ancestry of “imbroglio”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | imbroglio | tangle, entanglement, muddle, scrape; cheat,... |
| 2 | Italian | imbrogliare | to tangle, entangle, muddle, confuse; to cheat,... |
| 3 | French | embrouiller | to entangle; to bamboozle, to confuse |
| 4 | French | brouiller | to blur; to mix up, confuse; to scramble |
| 5 | Middle French | brouiller | — |
| 6 | Old French | brouiller | — |
| 7 | Vulgar Latin | brodiculare | to jumble together |
| 8 | Latin | brodum | broth, stew |
| 9 | Frankish | broþ | broth |
| 10 | Proto-Germanic | bruþą | broth |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰrewh₁- | to boil; to brew |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰer- | to bear, carry |