Where does “brytten” come from?
brytten (Middle English) comes from Old English brittian, from Proto-Germanic brutjaną, from Proto-Germanic breutaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰrewd- — to break.
Ancestry of “brytten”, step by step
brytten traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Old English brittian
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | brittian | — |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | brutjaną | to break, divide |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | breutaną | to destroy, crush, break |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰrewd- | to break |
via Old English bretwalda
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old English | bretwalda | title of certain Anglo-Saxon kings |