An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/brauchen

by Friedrich Kluge

brauchen, verb, ‘to use, need, want, require,’ from the equivalent Middle High German brûchen, Old High German brûhhan; compare the corresponding Anglo-Saxon brûcan, ‘to enjoy,’ also ‘to digest, tolerate,’ English to brook; Gothic *brûkjan, ‘to use, enjoy.’ Not found originally in Scandinavian. The pre-Teutonic form of the root bhrū̆g accords with Latin fruor, which originated in *fruvor for *frugvor; the Latin participle fructus, which phonetically is identical with gebraucht and Gothic brûhts, shows the final guttural of the root, and so does Latin fruges, &c. The following are Teutonic noun forms from the root brûk (bhrûg): Modern High German Brauch, masculine (compare Old High German brûh), Gothic brûks, Anglo-Saxon brŷce, Old High German brûchi, ‘serviceable, useful.’