Etymology

Ultimately from Lat, cp. MLat breuiāre ‘to draw up or send dispatches’, formed on breue (scriptum), the ME is most likely a new loan of the MLat, or possibly continuation of a (rare, relatively late) OE gebrēfan ‘to set down briefly in writing’. ON input has been argued on semantic grounds: the ON v. is supposed to have been used in the general sense ‘to tell’ as well as ‘to write’, i.e. closely mirroring the range of meanings in the Gaw manuscript (so Emerson 1922: 371; McGee 324), Erk (Savage) and WA.  But in fact the attested uses of OIcel bréfa all have to do with written accounts, and even if a meaning ‘to tell’ could be demonstrated in ON, the corresponding ME sense is restricted to alliterative verse (see Attestation) and could thus represent a typical semantic generalization (from ‘to report in writing’ to ‘to report, announce’) for alliterative purposes rather than depending on ON usage. Moreover, the rarity of the ON v. and its attestation only in OIcel may be grounds for doubting it was even available in VAN.

PGmc Ancestor

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

bréfa ‘to set down in writing, report, make a précis; document’
(ONP bréfa (vb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Icel bréfa

OE Cognate

gebrēfan ‘to set down briefly in writing’

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

FCCC3c

Attestation

MED has two citations from the KG, but most of its other examples then come from N/EM texts, and in some senses it is esp. frequent in alliterative verse; sense (3) (‘To report or tell (sth.)’ etc.) is found only in the Gaw manuscript, Erk and WA.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Gaw 465, 1393, 1436 etc.; Pe 755; Cl 197; Erk 103; WA 35, 208, 256 etc.

Osgood emends keued at Pe 981 to *breued' for the sake of alliteration (see his 981n.)

Bibliography

MED brēven (v.) , OED breve (v.) , HTOED , HTOED , Dance breue, Mag. bréf, AEW brēfan, DOE gebrēfan