Where does “Brieffreund” come from?

Brieffreund (German) comes from German brief, from Middle High German brief, from Old High German briaf, from Latin breve, from Latin brevis, from Proto-Italic *breɣʷis, from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰus, from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ- — short.

Brieffreund (German): pen pal, penfriend

Definitions

  1. pen pal, penfriend

Ancestry of “Brieffreund”, step by step

Brieffreund traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via German brief

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanbriefletter (written message)
2Middle High Germanbrief
3Old High Germanbriaf
4Latinbrevenominative neuter singular of brevis; accusative...
5Latinbrevisshort, small, little, narrow; brief, short;...
6Proto-Italic*breɣʷis
7Proto-Indo-Europeanmréǵʰusshort; brief
8Proto-Indo-Europeanmreǵʰ-short

via German Freund

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanFreundfriend; boyfriend; blood relative
2Middle High Germanvriuntfriend
3Old High Germanfriuntfriend
4Proto-West Germanicfriundfriend
5Proto-Germanicfrijōndzfriend, loved one
6Proto-Indo-Europeanprēy-to like, love; like, love
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ-Every word from Proto-Indo-European mréǵʰusEvery word from Proto-Italic *breɣʷis