| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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Appendix I
Indo-European Roots |
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| ENTRY: | mregh-u- |
| DEFINITION: | Short. Oldest form *mre h-u-, becoming *mregh-u- in centum languages.
I. Suffixed form *mregh-wi-. brief, brumal; abbreviate, abridge, from Latin brevis, short.
II. Zero-grade form *m ghu-. 1a. merry, from Old English myrge, mirige, pleasant; b. mirth, from Old English myrgth, pleasure, joy, from Germanic *murgith , pleasantness. Both a and b from Germanic *murgja-, short, also pleasant, joyful. 2. brachy-; amphibrach, tribrach, from Greek brakhus, short. 3. brace3, bracero, brachium, brassard, brassiere, pretzel; embrace, from Greek comparative brakhin, shorter, hence also “upper arm” (as opposed to the longer forearm). (Pokorny mrehu- 750.) |
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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