*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of bream

From Middle English breme, from Old French breme, bresme, braisme, brasme (whence French brème), from Frankish *brahsma, *brahsima (whence Dutch brasem), from Proto-West Germanic *brahsmō (whence Old High German brahsma,

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A European fresh-water cyprinoid fish of the genus Abramis, little valued as food. Several species are known. · A species in that genus, Abramis brama. · An American fresh-water fish, of various species of Lepomis and allied genera, which are also called sunfishes and pondfishes. · A marine sparoid fish of the genus Pagellus, and allied genera.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English breme, from Old French breme, bresme, braisme, brasme (whence French brème), from Frankish *brahsma, *brahsima (whence Dutch brasem), from Proto-West Germanic *brahsmō (whence Old High German brahsma, brahsmo, brahsina, brehsina (whence German Brasse, Brachse (“bream”))), from Proto-Germanic *brahsmô, *brahsinō, *brahsmaz (“bream”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *brehwanaz (“shining, glittery, sparkly”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerek- (“to shine”) (see braid (verb)).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "breme"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English breme"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "breme"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French breme"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "brème"
      },
      "expansion": "French brème"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frk",
        "3": "*brahsma"
      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *brahsma"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "brasem"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch brasem"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*brahsmō"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *brahsmō"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "brahsma"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German brahsma"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Brasse"
      },
      "expansion": "German Brasse"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*brahsmô"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *brahsmô"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*brehwanaz",
        "t": "shining, glittery, sparkly"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *brehwanaz (“shining, glittery, sparkly”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰerek-",
        "t": "to shine"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *bʰerek- (“to shine”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "breme",
      "breme#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "breme",
      "breme#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "bresme",
      "bresme#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "braisme",
      "braisme#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "brasme",
      "brasme#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "brème",
      "brème#French"
    ],
    [
      "*brahsma",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/brahsma"
    ],
    [
      "*brahsima",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/brahsima"
    ],
    [
      "brasem",
      "brasem#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "*brahsmō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/brahsmō"
    ],
    [
      "brahsma",
      "brahsma#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "brahsmo",
      "brahsmo#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "brahsina",
      "brahsina#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "brehsina",
      "brehsina#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "Brasse",
      "Brasse#German"
    ],
    [
      "Brachse",
      "Brachse#German"
    ],
    [
      "*brahsmô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/brahsmô"
    ],
    [
      "*brahsinō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/brahsinō"
    ],
    [
      "*brahsmaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/brahsmaz"
    ],
    [
      "*brehwanaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/brehwanaz"
    ],
    [
      "*bʰerek-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/bʰerek-"
    ],
    [
      "braid",
      "braid#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A European fresh-water cyprinoid fish of the genus Abramis, little valued as food. Several species are known.",
        "A species in that genus, Abramis brama.",
        "An American fresh-water fish, of various species of Lepomis and allied genera, which are also called sunfishes and pondfishes.",
        "A marine sparoid fish of the genus Pagellus, and allied genera."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ],
      "recordId": "4f3ff08da95e9cc04a780e1debbfe56c81070435f0333a15764f4521493615f0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "05ebffe4dbbe588e0ea79ed107a6f62ebc8c0ac963f9fced2a338618d2f55429",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 235248
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
verb

To clean (e.g. a ship's bottom of clinging shells, seaweed, etc.) by the application of fire and scraping.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Compare broom, and German brennen (as in ein Schiff brennen).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "brennen"
      },
      "expansion": "German brennen"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "broom",
      "broom#English"
    ],
    [
      "brennen",
      "brennen#German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To clean (e.g. a ship's bottom of clinging shells, seaweed, etc.) by the application of fire and scraping."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "317847b09a884e5b03c48a1bddcf959f1f0fc5775c78e820e396e74b1601d3f2",
      "rawRecordSha256": "75f9891ab5f2aca8d8a49b647df8892ee62b8036b74a1fae8c39b8fae4845380",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 235249
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for bream →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YnJlYW0