An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Bremse

by Friedrich Kluge

Bremse, feminine, ‘drag-shoe,’ from Middle High German bręmse, feminine, ‘barnacle, muzzle.’ It cannot be identified with Bremse, ‘gadfly’ (see Breme), because the latter indicates a Gothic brimisi, while Bremse, ‘drag-shoe,’ points to a Gothic bramisjô. For Bremse, ‘drag,’ dialectal forms such as bram (with a and the loss of the suffix s) have been authenticated, but of a root bram with some such meaning as ‘to press, squeeze,’ there is no trace, The suffix s recalls Gothic jukuzi, ‘yoke,’ from the equivalent juk; compare also aqizi, ‘axe.’