| 1 | French | briser | To break; snap; To become broken; snap |
| 2 | Middle French | briser | — |
| 3 | Old French | brisier | to break , bust; to break to pieces by a shock or... |
| 4 | Frankish | bristan | to break to pieces, split, shatter; to break,... |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | brestaną | to burst, break, sunder, split, crack |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰres‑ | to burst; break; crack; crackle |