Etymology Explorer › Old English

Where does “brittian” come from?

brittian (Old English) comes from Proto-Germanic brutjaną, from Proto-Germanic breutaną, from Proto-Indo-European bʰrewd- — to break.

Ancestry of “brittian”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Germanicbrutjanąto break, divide
2Proto-Germanicbreutanąto destroy, crush, break
3Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰrewd-to break

Words derived from “brittian”

  • brit
  • brytten
  • brutten
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰrewd- →