bher-

I. bher-¹

To carry; also to bear children.

Derivatives include birth, fertile, suffer, furtive, and metaphor.

1.

a.

(i) bear¹, from Old English beran, to carry;

(ii) forbear¹, from Old English forberan, to bear, endure (for-, for-; see per¹). Both (i) and (ii) from Germanic *beran;

b. bier, from Old English bēr, bǣr, bier, and Old French biere bier, both from Germanic *bērō;

c. bore³, from Old Norse bāra, wave, billow, from Germanic *bēr-.

2.

a. bairn, from Old English bearn, child, from Germanic *barnam;

b. barrow¹, from Old English bearwe, basket, wheelbarrow, from Germanic *barwōn-.

3.

a. burly, from Old English *borlic, excellent, exalted (< “borne up”), from Germanic *bur-;

b. burden¹, from Old English byrthen, burden, from Germanic *burthinja-;

c. birth, from a source akin to Old Norse burdhr, birth, from Germanic *burthiz;

d. birr¹, from Old Norse byrr, favorable wind, perhaps from Germanic *burja-.

4. Compound root *bhrenk-, to bring (< *bher- + *enk-, to reach; see nek-²). bring, from Old English bringan, to bring, from Germanic *brengan.

5. -fer, fertile; afferent, circumference, confer, defer¹, defer², differ, efferent, infer, offer, prefer, proffer, refer, suffer, transfer, vociferate, from Latin ferre, to carry.

6. Prefixed and suffixed zero-grade form *pro-bhr-o-, “something brought before one” (*pro-, before; see per¹). opprobrium, from Latin probrum, a reproach.

7. Possibly suffixed zero-grade form *bhr̥-tu- in Latin words having to do with “chance” (? < “a bringing, that which is brought”).

a. fortuitous, from Latin fortuītus, happening by chance;

b. Fortuna, fortune, from Latin fortūna, chance, good luck, fortune, and Fortūna, goddess of good fortune.

8. Probably lengthened o-grade form *bhōr-. ferret¹, furtive, furuncle; furunculosis, from Latin fūr, thief.

9. feretory, -phore, -phoresis, -phorous; amphora, anaphora, diaphoresis, euphoria, metaphor, periphery, pheromone, telpher, tocopherol, from Greek pherein, to carry, with o-grade noun phoros, a carrying.

10. paraphernalia, from Greek phernē, dowry (“something brought by a bride”).

11. sambal, from Sanskrit bharati, he carries, brings.

 

[Pokorny 1. bher- 128.]

  II. bher-²

Bright, brown.

1. Suffixed variant form *bhrū-no-.

a. brown, from Old English brūn, brown;

b. bruin, from Middle Dutch bruun;

c. brunet, burnet, burnish, from Old French brun, shining, brown. a-c all from Germanic *brūnaz.

2. Reduplicated form *bhibhru-, *bhebhru-, “the brown animal,” beaver. beaver¹, from Old English be(o)for, beaver, from Germanic *bebruz.

3. bear², from Old English bera, bear, from Germanic *berō, “the brown animal,” bear.

4. berserker, from Old Norse björn, bear, from Germanic *bernuz.

 

[Pokorny 5. bher- 136.]

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