Brocken

Part of speech: verb, adjective

Definitions

1. An old-fashioned past participle meaning shattered or split apart ; a mountain peak in the Harz range of central Germany
2. Archaic form of the past participle meaning fractured or smashed ; the highest summit of the Harz mountains in Germany
3. A dated participle describing something that has been cracked or snapped ; a well-known peak in Germany's Harz uplands

Etymology: "Brocken" is a variant of "brooking," the older form of the verb "brook," which meant to endure, tolerate, or put up with something. So "brocken" carries the same sense: to bear with a situation or a person that one would rather not accept. The word belongs to the family of "brook" in its older meaning, which is far more common in earlier English writing than in modern use. The shape of the word shows how English verbs once worked. Many old verbs formed their past participles with "-en" and changed their vowels, as in "speak, spoken" or "break, broken." Here, "brocken" appears as one of these older-looking forms, and it sits alongside the more familiar "brooking" and "brook." Readers who know "brook" only as a stream will find it surprising that the verb once meant something closer to putting up with hardship.

Synonyms: broken

Antonyms: whole, intact