Definition of bring to

The phrase "bring to" is a phrasal verb that has its roots in Old English. The Old English word was "brecan," which meant "break" or "make" depending on its context. In Middle English, we see the word "brengen," which meant "to bring" or "to carry." This word contains the echoes of its Old English ancestry in the first part, "br," as it was believed that "br" could have come from the Proto-Germanic word for "break," "brekk-, brakk-." However, it's the second part of the word, "-gen," that links "brengen" back to Old English. "-gen" is a Germanic suffix meaning "the act of," "causation," or "making." Indeed, many Germanic words in Old English had "-gen" as a suffix, such as "gīfeng" for "given" or "blōtgen" for "blotted." The meaning of "-gen" was present in Middle English as well, when words like "singen" ("singing") or "wynten" ("wanting") came into use. So, when we use the phrase "bring to" today, we have a historical link back to Old English through both the "br" and the "-gen" elements. "Bring" comes from "brengen," and "to" comes from the "-gen" suffix that indicates movement or action. This phrasal verb highlights the completeness of a task by indicating that we have brought something to its intended state or location. With its origins in Old English, "bring to" is a phrasal verb with a long and fascinating history that enriches the English language.