IN GREEK
βρε
vre
hey (familiar address)
IN TURKISH
bre
bre
hey (familiar exclamation), also be
WEAR THE WORD
βρε in blue ink and bre in red, on a T shirt, a tote or a mug.
THE RECORD
- LENT BY, BORROWED BY
- Greek to Turkish
- STARTED IN
- Greek
- CATEGORY
- People and family
- NOTES
- Greek βρε comes from μωρέ, vocative of μωρός, and Turkish bre is usually traced to Greek. Nişanyan proposes an Albanian source instead, so the direction is disputed.
COMMENTS
An editor reads every comment before it appears.
SOURCES
- General etymological consensus
- to verify
Etymologies are checked against the dictionaries and studies listed. An entry is stamped settled only when both the Greek and the Turkish side have been checked. Research for this ledger was compiled with AI assistance and reviewed by the editors.
HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY
Gold, K. (ed.) (2026) ‘βρε / bre’, entry 241, Defter ή Tefteri: a ledger of shared Greek and Turkish words. https://defteritefteri.com/en/w/241-vre/. Accessed [day month year].