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Added 9 October 2026

brook

/bɹʊk/ verb

In Latin: rīvulus Wiktionary

verb Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about brook at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

To bear; endure; put up with; tolerate.
brook no refusal
To enjoy the use of; make use of; profit by; to use, enjoy, possess, or hold.
To earn; deserve.

noun

A body of running water smaller than a river; a small stream.
A water meadow, or low, marshy ground.

Origin

From Middle English brouken (“to use, enjoy”), from Old English brūcan (“to enjoy, brook, use, possess, partake of, spend”), from Proto-West Germanic *brūkan, from Proto-Germanic *brūkaną (“to enjoy, use”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg- (“to enjoy”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian bruke (“to need”), Dutch bruiken (“to use”), German Low German bruken (“to need”), German brauchen (“to need”), Swedish bruka (“to use”), Icelandic brúka (“to use”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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