*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

CaseSingularPlural
Nom.braguzbragiwiz
Acc.bragųbragunz
Gen.bragauzbragiwǫ̂
Dat.bragiwibragumaz
Inst.bragūbragumiz
Voc.bragubragiwiz

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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)
  • bragnar, bragi, bragr (Old Norse)
    • brag (Middle English)
      • braggen (Middle English)
        • brag (English)
        • bragge, braig (Scots)

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