--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
> so perhaps *bhreg- (Lat. frango:, etc),
> with some Celtic-like *-re- > *-ri- ?
As I think I had mentioned at the start of this exchange, according to
the _Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology_ (1996 edn.),
which repeats a claim already made in O. Pianigiani's 1907
etymological dictionary, the Vulgar Latin term briga would derive, as
a foreign loan word, from Gothic brikan 'to break' (< PIE *bhreg- 'to
make a noise, to crack, to break'), which by ablaut originated
brajka 'strife, struggle' (a secondary meaning derived by the noisy
shouting which characterizes fighting). The last mentioned meaning in
Gothic matches one of the meanings of the Italian term briga, 'strife,
brawl, fight, quarrel'. Yet the earliest attested meaning of briga
(found in Dante Alighieri) seems to be 'strength, vigour', which is
best explained if this word is regarded not as a Gothism, but as an
ancient loan from Celtic (*bri:go- 'strength' > Old Irish brig 'power,
strength, force', Middle Welsh bri 'honor, dignity, authority') not
attested in Latin.
Regards,
Francesco