OE. bræs 'generic bronze'. No etymology: "Of unknown origin: not found elsewhere... has been compared with Old Swedish brasa fire, brasa to flame, Danish brase to roast; but no connection has been traced" (OED). But MA suggests a possible Semitic loan, cf. Phoenician barzel, Syriac parzlā 'iron' (also possible source of Lat. ferrum 'iron'). Note Fris. bres 'copper' (MA) and MLG bras-penniuk 'large silver coin from Flanders' (LUB). Alloy of copper and zinc (brass in the modern sense of the word) was unknown in classical antiquity (CDB). "The Old English bræs was, usually at least, an alloy of copper and tin (= bronze); in much later times the alloy of copper and zinc came gradually into general use, and became the ordinary ‘brass’ of England; though in reference to ancient times, and esp. to the nations of antiquity, ‘brass’ still meant the older alloy. When works of Greek and Roman antiquity in ‘brass’ began to be critically examined, and their material discriminated, the Italian word for ‘brass’ (bronzo, bronze) came into use to distinguish this ‘ancient brass’ from the current alloy" (OED). Johnson 1755–73 explains the new word bronze as 'brass' (OED). OED
Robert Farren, PIE culture words collection, 2017
[Farren (2017)]
Location
AOM1
Etymology
Any ancestors and descendants of the selected element are shown in the graph, but siblings and cousins are not.
Ancestry Diagram
The element in question is marked in green.
When the etymological tree is displayed in hierarchical style, the nodes can be repositioned manually only within their level.
(Note that the node configuration is not saved in any way.)
The graph as a whole can be zoomed in on by scrolling and can be enlarged by dragging the right-lower corner.
Left-click on a node or edge to show additional information and links. In some browsers, the graph may be savable as an image when right-clicking on it.
Map
This map shows the etymological links in a geographic context.