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Origin and history of brooch

brooch(n.)

"ornamental clasp consisting of a pin and a covering shield," early 13c., from Old French broche "long needle" (see broach (n.)). Specialized meaning led 14c. to distinct spelling.

also from early 13c.

Entries linking to brooch

broach(n.)

"pointed instrument," c. 1300, from Old French broche (12c.) "spit for roasting, awl, point end, top," from Vulgar Latin *brocca "pointed tool" (source also of Spanish broca, Italian brocca), noun use of fem. of Latin adjective broccus "projecting, pointed" (used especially of teeth), perhaps of Gaulish origin (compare Gaelic brog "awl").

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    fibula
    1670s, "clasp, buckle, brooch," from Latin fibula "clasp, brooch; bolt, peg, pin," related to figere "to drive in, insert...the lower leg" from 1706, from a Latin loan-translation of Greek perone "small bone in the lower leg," originally "clasp, brooch...
    tack
    nail" of some kind, c. 1400, from Old North French taque "nail, pin, peg" (Old French tache, 12c., "nail, spike, tack; pin brooch...
    vent
    merged with or influenced by Middle English fent "opening or slit in a the front of a garment (usually held closed with a brooch...
    scalp
    mid-14c. (c. 1200 as a surname), "crown or top of the head (including hair)," presumably from a Scandinavian source (though exact sense cognates are wanting) related to Old Norse skalli "a bald head," skalpr "sheath, scabbard," from PIE root *skel- (1) "to cut," which is also the
    nip
    late 14c., nippen, "to pinch sharply; to bite suddenly," probably from or related to Middle Low German nipen "to nip, to pinch," German nippen, Middle Dutch nipen "to pinch," Dutch nijpen, Old Norse hnippa "to prod," but the exact evolution of the stem is obscure. Related: Nipped
    pin
    late Old English pinn "peg or bolt of wood or metal used to hold things in place or fasten them together," from Proto-Germanic *penn- "jutting point or peak" (source also of Old Saxon pin "peg," Old Norse pinni "peg, tack," Middle Dutch pin "pin, peg," Old High German pfinn, Germ
    recuse
    late 14c., recusen, "to decline, refuse," especially "reject another's authority or jurisdiction over oneself as prejudiced," from Old French recuser (13c.) and directly from Latin recusare "make an objection against; decline, refuse, reject; be reluctant to," from re- (see re-)
    rescue
    late 14c., rescoue, "act of saving from danger, confinement, enemies, etc., from rescue (v.). The earlier noun or form of the noun in Middle English was rescous (early 14c.), from Old French rescous, verbal noun to rescourre, rescorre. As an adjective by 1888 (William Booth) "aim
    secure
    1530s, "without care or fear, dreading no evil" (a sense now archaic), from Latin securus, of persons, "free from care, quiet, easy," also in a bad sense, "careless, reckless;" of things, "tranquil; free from danger, safe," from *se cura, from se "free from" (see se-) + cura "car
    ceruse
    late 14c., "white lead; a mixture or compound of hydrate and carbonate of lead, produced by exposing in thin plates to the vapor of vinegar" [Century Dictionary], from Old French ceruse, from Latin cerussa, "white lead." It is perhaps ultimately from a Greek or Latin word meaning

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