eldertongue

Old English · noun

bridd

Part of speech
noun, masculine
Declension
strong a-stem
IPA
/bridd/
[brid]
Syllables
bridd (1 syllable)
Modern English
birdchickaltricialfledglinghatchlingchickenopposed

Meaning

  1. chick (a young bird or fledgling, as opposed to an altricial chick or hatchling)

  2. chicken

Declension

Declension of bridd
SingularPlural
Nominative briddbriddas
Accusative briddbriddas
Genitive briddesbridda
Dative briddebriddum

All forms (6)

Etymology

Unknown; the word appears to be exclusive to Old English and lacks cognates in any other Germanic languages. Liberman notes that dozens of origins have been both suggested and rejected, leaving its original meaning and etymology a mystery. It might possibly be from a non-Indo-European substrate, with a likely onomatopoeic origin. Formally, however, the word may trace back to a Proto-West Germanic *bridi ~ *briddj-, possibly to Proto-Germanic *bridjaz, a derivative of *bredą (“board, plank, shelf", possibly also "perch, roost”), and may have therefore been used of young birds or fowl that were …

Descendants

bird

Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bridd · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution