"small natural stream," Old English broc "flowing stream, torrent," of obscure origin, probably from Proto-Germanic *broka- which yielded words in German (Bruch) and Dutch (broek) that have a sense of "marsh, bog." In Sussex and Kent, it means "water-meadow," and in plural, "low, marshy ground."

"to endure," Old English brucan "to use, enjoy the use of, possess; eat; cohabit with," from Proto-Germanic *brukjanan "to make use of, enjoy" (source also of Old Saxon brukan, Old Frisian bruka "to use, practice," Dutch gebruiken "to use," Old High German bruhhan, German brauchen "to use, need," Gothic brukjan), from PIE root *bhrug- "to enjoy." The sense of "use" as applied to food led to that of "be able to digest," and by 16c. to "endure, tolerate," always in a negative sense. The original meanings have become obsolete.

New York City borough, named for village founded there 1646 and named for Dutch township of Breukelen near Utrecht; which is from Old High German bruoh "moor, marshland." The spelling of U.S. place name was influenced by brook (n.), which probably is distantly related. Related: Brooklynese.

c. 1200, "employ for a purpose," from Old French user "employ, make use of, practice, frequent," from Vulgar Latin *usare "use," frequentative form of past participle stem of Latin uti "make use of, profit by, take advantage of, enjoy, apply, consume," in Old Latin oeti "use, employ, exercise, perform," of uncertain origin. Related: Used; using. Replaced Old English brucan (see brook (v.)). From late 14c. as "take advantage of."

*bhrūg-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to enjoy," with derivatives referring to agricultural products.

It forms all or part of: brook (v.) "to endure;" defunct; fructify; fructose; frugal; fruit; fruitcake; fruitful; fruition; fruitless; frumentaceous; function; fungible; perfunctory; tutti-frutti; usufruct.

It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin frui "to use, enjoy," fructus "an enjoyment, proceeds, fruit, crops;" Old English brucan "use, enjoy, possess," German brauchen "to use."

late 14c., "rejoice, be glad" (intransitive), from stem of Old French enjoir "to give joy, rejoice, take delight in," from en- "make" (see en- (1)) + joir "enjoy," from Latin gaudere "rejoice" (see joy); Sense of "have the use or benefit of" first recorded early 15c. (replacing Old English brucan, for which see brook (v.)).

Transitive meaning "take pleasure in" is mid-15c. In modern use it has a tendency to lose its connection with pleasure: newspaper photo captions say someone enjoys an ice cream cone, etc., when all she is doing is eating it, and Wright's "English Dialect Dictionary" (1900) reports widespread use in north and west England of the phrase to enjoy bad health for one who has ailments. Meaning "have sexual relations with" (a woman) is from 1590s. Related: Enjoyed; enjoys; enjoying. To enjoy oneself "feel pleasure or satisfaction in one's mind" attested by 1708.

"small stream or brook," 1580s, perhaps from Italian rivoletto, diminutive of rivolo, itself a diminutive of rivo "brook," from Latin rivus "stream, brook" (from PIE *reiwos "that which flows," from root *rei- "to run, flow"). For ending, see -let.

fashionable district of London, developed 18c., built on Brook fields, where an annual May fair had been held 17c.

"small stream, brook," early 13c., kryk, crick, crike; see creek.

"a river," from Spanish rio, from Latin rivus "brook, stream" (from PIE root *rei- "to run, flow").