Where does “brief” come from?

brief (German) comes 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.

brief (German): letter (written message)

Definitions

  1. letter (written message)

Ancestry of “brief”, step by step

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

Words derived from “brief”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European mreǵʰ- →
brief — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer