An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/brauen

by Friedrich Kluge

brauen, vb. ‘to brew,’ from the equiv. MidHG. brûwen, briuwen, OHG. briuwan; comp. the corresponding OIc. brugga, Du. brouwen, AS. breówan, E. to brew. To the OTeut. root bru (from Aryan bhru- bhrĕw), ‘to brew,’ which may be inferred from these verbs, belongs Phryg.-Thrac. βρῦτον, ‘beer, cider,’ which perhaps stands for Gr. *φρῦτον, also Lat. defrū̆tum, ‘must boiled down,’ OIr. bruthe, ‘broth,’ bruth, ‘live coals, heat,’ bruith, ‘cooking.’ It is shown, moreover, under Brod that the meaning of the root bhru- was at one time more general; comp. further brodeln. On account of the gutturals, Gr. φρύγω, Lat. frîgo, cannot be cognates. Comp. also brodeln, Brod.