Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “Breteyn” come from?

Breteyn (Middle English) comes from Old French Bretaigne, from Latin Britannia, from Ancient Greek Βρεττανία, from Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ, from Proto-Indo-European -íh₂, from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Ancestry of “Breteyn”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old FrenchBretaigne—
2LatinBritanniaBritain
3Ancient GreekΒρεττανία—
4Ancient Greek-ῐ́ᾱ{{l|en|-ia}}; "suffix forming abstract feminine...
5Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
6Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

Words derived from “Breteyn”

  • Britain
  • 不列顛
  • ブリテン
  • ब्रिटेन
  • Pelekāne
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →