Etymology

ME forms of this v. without metathesis are always explained as showing the influence of the ON cognate, cp. OIcel bresta, pp. brostinn ‘crack, crash; snap, break, be split open; give way, break loose (etc.)’ with OE berstan, pp. borsten (and further OS, OHG brestan next to OFris bersta, MLG bersten, barsten (whence also Ger bersten)), though some authorities are more tentative about adducing ON input (OED, Bj.), or offer both OE and ON forms as etyma (e.g. TGD, MED).

PGmc Ancestor

*brestan-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

bresta ‘to crack, crash; snap, break, be split open; give way, break loose (etc.)’
(ONP bresta (1) (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far bresta, Icel bresta, Norw bresta, Dan briste, Sw brista

OE Cognate

berstan 'to break, burst, fail, fall'

Phonological and morphological markers

[

absence of metathesis

] (possibly diagnostic)

Summary category

C2

Attestation

Br- forms are common and widespread in ME from the early 14c. onwards. VEPN records only one related name-form, viz. Brookbreasting, Not.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 1166; Cl 1263, 1783; Pat 148; WA 510, 728*, 789, etc.

Bibliography

MED bresten (v.) , OED burst (v.) , HTOED , Dance brusten, Bj. 182-3, de Vries bresta (1), Mag. bresta, Bj-L. briste, Seebold brest-a-, Orel *ƀrestanan, Kroonen *brestan-, AEW berstan, DOE berstan