brayd

n.

Cl braydeWA braid, braide, pl. braidis

'sudden movement; (in/at a b.) forthwith' (Modern English braid)

Etymology

Formally, this word continues OE (ge-)brægd, (ge-)bregd, but the range of senses attested (as Bj. and OED note), esp. the adv. use in phrases such as those in Cl (see MED's sense (4); cp. OIcel auga-bragð 'twinkling of an eye, instant, moment') are closely paralleled by the ON cognate, cp. OIcel bragð 'sudden motion, etc.', and all authorities claim some degree of influence from it. There is nonetheless some evidence for a wider range of senses for the OE n.: gebregd meaning 'sudden movement, change (of weather)' is attested in the Phoenix (see further DOE s.v. gebregd (2)). MED also cites influence from the v. breiden (< OE bregdan) on the ME n. and McGee (387) notes that the presence of the Scandinavian form (see breyþe (v.)) in Cl strengthens the case for ON influence on the n. The PGmc n. *ƀragða- (cp. also OFris breud 'pulling') is derived from the st. v. *ƀregðan- (cp. OE bregdan 'to move, make a sudden movement, drag, pull, weave, bind, vary etc.', ON bregða 'to move swiftly', OFris breida, OHG brettan 'to pull, tug', OS pret. brugdun 'knitted, tied').

PGmc Ancestor

*ƀragða-

Proposed ON Etymon (OIcel representative)

bragð 'sudden motion, etc.'; cp. auga-bragð 'twinkling of an eye, instant, moment'
(ONP bragð (sb.); cp. auga-bragð (sb.))

Other Scandinavian Reflexes

Far bragdbragð, Icel bragð, Norw bragd, Sw bragd, Sw dial bragd

OE Cognate

(ge-)brægd, (ge-)bregd 'deceitfulness, cunning', cp. gebregd 'sudden movement, woven material'

Phonological and morphological markers

Summary category

CC3

Attestation

Common and widespread in ME in relevant senses from c. 1300.

Occurrences in the Gersum Corpus

Cl 537, 1507; WA 381, 1220, 1956 etc.

Bibliography

MED breid (n.1) , OED braid (n.) , HTOED , Bj. 160, Orel *ƀragđan ~ *ƀragđaz, ƀreʒđanan, Kroonen, de Vries bragð, Mag. bragð, DOE gebrægd, gebregd, DOE brægd, bregd, DOE gebregd (2), AEW brægd