An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Brühe

by Friedrich Kluge

Brühe, feminine, from the equivalent Middle High German brüeje, ‘broth, sauce.’ The root of the word must not he sought in brauen, which is based upon bru-; brü-je would be in Gothic brôja, Teutonic root brô, in Middle English brêie, Middle Dutch broeye. From the same stem Middle High German Brut has been formed, with a dental suffix. The weak verb is brühen, Middle High German brüejen, brüen, ‘to scald, singe, burn’; compare Dutch broeijen, ‘to warm, brood’; in earlier Modern High German, too, brühen signifies ‘to brood,’ In spite of the meaning, the connection with Bruch is, on phonetic grounds, improbable.