*braguz
Runic: ᛒᚱᚨᚷᚢᛉ Pronunciation: /ˈbrɑ.ɣuz/noun · masculine · u-stem
Meanings
one who is first or foremost, a premier, chief, leader, prince
Etymology
De (Vaan 2002) does an extensive analysis of the reflexes of this term. Likely from ablauting pre-Germanic *bregus / *brogus, a Verner alternate of Proto-Germanic *brehaną (‘to flicker, glitter; light up; blink’), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreḱ- (‘to shine’). Reconstructed as a u-stem based on the Old English, where u-stems formed a small, unproductive, and receding class, of typically high-frequency archaisms. It is unlikely that Old English would have shifted it into this class from another larger class such as the a-stems or i-stems, whereas these nouns were often shifted to the latter in Old Norse. There are possible alternate forms of *bragiz, *bragô, *bragz based on the Old Norse reflexes. Related to *bregdaną (‘to flicker, flutter, jerk, tug (on), twitch, flinch, move, swing’).
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | braguz | bragiwiz |
| Acc. | bragų | bragunz |
| Gen. | bragauz | bragiwǫ̂ |
| Dat. | bragiwi | bragumaz |
| Inst. | bragū | bragumiz |
| Voc. | bragu | bragiwiz |
Descendants
-
*bragu (Proto-West Germanic)
- bregu, brego, breogo (Old English)
-
bragnar, bragi, bragr (Old Norse)
- bragur (Icelandic)
- brag (Norwegian)
-
bragnar, bragi, bragr (Old Norse)
-
bragg (Faroese)
- bragga (Faroese)
-
bragg (Faroese)
-
bragnar, bragi, bragr (Old Norse)
-
brag (Middle English)
-
braggen (Middle English)
- brag (English)
- bragge, braig (Scots)
-
braggen (Middle English)
-
brag (Middle English)