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bridd

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Old English

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bridd
bridd
briddas

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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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.[1] It might possibly be from a non-Indo-European substrate, with a likely onomatopoeic origin.

Formally, the word may lead 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 fledged and able to perch but not yet able to fly (i.e. "perch-ling", or "roost-ling"; compare modern English rooster, bougher, brancher, etc.), as opposed to fugol ~ fuglas the term for birds that were able to fly. If so, then possibly related to Old English bred (board, plank, tablet). Otherwise, the derivation remains unclear.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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bridd m

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

Declension

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Strong a-stem:

singular plural
nominative bridd briddas
accusative bridd briddas
genitive briddes bridda
dative bridde briddum

Descendants

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  • Middle English: brid, bryd, bridde

References

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  1. ^ An Analytic Dictionary of the English Etymology: An Introduction. (n.d.). United Kingdom: U of Minnesota Press, p. 9-13

Welsh

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Noun

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bridd m

  1. Soft mutation of pridd.

Mutation

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Mutated forms of pridd
radical soft nasal aspirate
pridd bridd mhridd phridd

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.