the.com/brook
A river too young to know its own name yet.
means A small natural stream of fresh water, or — as a verb — to tolerate or put up with something (usually in the negative, as in 'brook no argument').
from Two unrelated words wearing the same coat. The watery 'brook' comes from Old English 'broc,' a small stream, with cousins across the Germanic languages. The verb 'brook,' meaning to endure, traces back to Old English 'brucan,' to use or enjoy — related to Latin 'frui' (to enjoy, the root behind 'fruit' and 'fructify'). Its meaning drifted from 'enjoy' to 'digest' to 'stomach,' and finally to 'put up with,' which is why we now brook no nonsense rather than savoring it.
- meaning shift
- As a verb, to brook means to tolerate
- old roots
- Word predates English, born in Germanic tongues
- map fossils
- Survives in thousands of town and surname endings
- size matters
- Smaller than a creek, bigger than a trickle
brook trout — native fish species to eastern north america, identified by distinctive red spots and square tail fin
broken brook waterfall — located in the catskill mountains of new york, approximately 200 feet tall
brook farm — utopian community founded in west roxbury, massachusetts in 1841