break (v.)
古英语 brecan “将固体物质猛烈地分割成部分或碎片; 伤害, 违反(承诺等), 破坏, 缩减; 闯入, 冲入; 迸发, 涌出; 制服, 驯服” (第四类强动词; 过去时 bræc, 过去分词 brocen), 来自古日耳曼语 *brekanan (也是古弗里斯兰语 breka, 荷兰语 breken, 古高德语 brehhan, 德语 brechen, 哥特语 brikan), 来自PIE词根 *bhreg- “打破”.
与 breach (n.), brake (n. 1), brick (n.) 密切相关. 旧的过去式 brake 已经过时或古旧; 过去分词是 broken, 但缩短形式 broke 从14世纪开始有证据, 并且是“极其常见的” [OED] 17世纪-18世纪.
古英语中的骨头. 以前也指布, 纸等. 意为“打破围墙逃跑” 是从14世纪末开始的 不动词意义“在某种力量的作用下被或变得分离成碎片或部分” 是从12世纪末开始的 意为“减少, 损害” 是从15世纪末开始的 意为“作第一次和部分的披露” 是从13世纪初开始的 意为“以任何方式破坏连续性或完整性” 是从1741年开始的. 对钱币或纸币的意思是“兑换成较小单位的货币”, 到1882年. 在指心脏方面从13世纪初开始(不定式); 以 break (someone's) heart 是14世纪末
Break bread “同食” 是14世纪末的To break ground 是从1670年代作为“挖, 犁,” 从1709年在形象意义上“开始执行一个计划”. To break the ice “克服新相识时的拘束感” 出自17世纪, 指陌生人相遇时的“冷淡”. Break wind 最早见于1550年代. 以 break (something) out (19世纪90年代) 可能是码头工作中的形象, 卸货前释放货物.
讽刺性的好运公式 break a leg (到1948年, 据说至少是20世纪20年代的) 在德语 Hals- und Beinbruch “扭断你的脖子和腿” 和意大利语 in bocca al lupo “扭断你的脖子和腿” 有相似之处. 这是一种高度迷信的工艺的证据(见 Macbeth). 根据Farmer & Henley的说法, 在17世纪, 这一表达方式被委婉地用来形容一个女人, “有一个私生子”.
break (n.)
14世纪, “打破, 强行中断或分离的行为”, 出自 break (五). 在 break of day “早晨光的第一次出现” 的意义来自1580年代; “突然的, 明显的从一个过程, 地点或状态过渡到另一个过程, 地点或状态” 的意义是到1725年. 意为“短暂的工作间隔” (原为学校的课间休息) 是1861年的. 意义为“运气的中风”, 经1911年考证, 可能是台球的形象(其中散布有序的球并开始比赛的 break, 经1865年考证). “中风” 的含义是1914年的. 爵士音乐意义上的“即兴段落, 独奏” 是从20世纪20年代开始的. 广播意义上的是到1941年.
Entries linking to break
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to break."
It forms all or part of: anfractuous; Brabant; bracken; brake (n.1) "stopping device for a wheel;" brake (n.2) "kind of fern;" brash; breach; break; breccia; breeches; brioche; chamfer; defray; diffraction; fractal; fraction; fractious; fracture; fragile; fragility; fragment; frail; frangible; infraction; infringe; irrefragable; irrefrangible; naufragous; ossifrage; refract; refraction; refrain (n.); refrangible; sassafras; saxifrage; suffragan; suffrage.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit (giri)-bhraj "breaking-forth (out of the mountains);" Latin frangere "to break (something) in pieces, shatter, fracture;" Lithuanian braškėti "crash, crack;" Old Irish braigim "break wind;" Gothic brikan, Old English brecan "to break."
Old English bryce "a fracture, act of breaking," from Proto-Germanic *brukiz (source also of Old Frisian breke "a burst, crack, demolition (of a house)," Old Saxon bruki, Old High German bruh, Middle Dutch broke), a noun from *brekanan (source of Old English brecan "to shatter, burst; injure, violate, destroy, curtail;" see break (v.)). The English word was influenced by Old French cognate breche "breach, opening, gap," which is from Frankish or another Germanic source. Ultimately from PIE root *bhreg- "to break."
Figurative sense of "infraction, violation, a breaking of rules, etc." was in Old English. Meaning "opening made by breaking" is from late 14c. Meaning "rupture of friendly relations" is from 1570s. Breach of contract is from at least 1660s; breach of peace "violation of public order" is from 1670s; breach of promise (usually promise of marriage) is from 1580s.
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updated on February 14, 2021
The figurine broke
You broke the alarm clock when you took it apart!
He broke the glass plate
She broke the match
break a law
break a promise
The horses broke from the stable
Nobody can break out--this prison is high security
Three inmates broke jail
The clouds broke after the heavy downpour
break into tears
who broke into my account last night?
Someone broke in while I was on vacation
They broke into my car and stole my radio!
The horse was tough to break
I broke in the new intern
he broke the news to her
Voices broke in the air
light broke over the horizon
The bus we travelled in broke down on the way to town
The coffee maker broke
She had broken with the traditional patterns
The ranks broke
The surf broke
If the new teacher won't break, we'll add some stress
The heat wave finally broke yesterday
The flat plain was broken by tall mesas
She finally broke herself of smoking cigarettes
break cigarette smoking
The first winter storm broke over New York
Things have been breaking pretty well for us in the past few months
His peccadilloes finally broke his marriage
This play will either make or break the playwright
The will was broken
The business partners broke over a tax question
He was broken down to Sergeant
My daughter's fancy wedding is going to break me!
The whales broke
The dam broke
Kids were break-dancing at the street corner
I had to break a $100 bill just to buy the candy
The book dealer would not break the set
The referee broke the boxers
break a branch from a tree
The skin broke
The blade broke her skin
News of her death broke in the morning
break a circuit
The simple vowels broke in many Germanic languages
break an alibi
break down a proof
break the code
Her voice broke to a whisper when she started to talk about her children
his voice is breaking--he should no longer sing in the choir
stock prices broke
The patient's fever broke last night
His resistance was broken
a man broken by the terrible experience of near-death
there was a break in the action when a player was hurt
he finally got his big break
they hoped to avoid a break in relations
we took a 10-minute break
the break seems to have been caused by a fall
the break in the dam threatened the valley
then there was a break in her voice
he was up two breaks in the second set
it was presented without commercial breaks
he made a break for the open door
the break in the eighth frame cost him the match
Dictionary entries near break
bread
bread-and-butter
bread-basket
breadth
breadwinner
break
breakable
breakage
breakaway
break-dancing
breakdown
