Etymology Explorer › German

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

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanbrief—
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
Every word from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ- →