Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “bro” come from?

bro (Middle English) comes from Old Norse brá, from Proto-Germanic brēwō, from Proto-Indo-European h₃bʰrúHs — eyebrow.

Ancestry of “bro”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norsebráeyelash
2Proto-Germanicbrēwōeyebrow
3Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃bʰrúHseyebrow

Words derived from “bro”

  • brae
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃bʰrúHs →