Brink
/brɪŋk/noun
The edge or verge of something, especially a critical or dangerous point.
Did you know?English brink is an old North Sea Germanic word for a raised edge or slope, and it survives in place-names like Brent and Brinken, preserving the geography of “edges” in the landscape.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*bankiz
“a raised edge, ridge, or bank”
Old English
OE
brinc
“a slope, brink, or edge”
Middle English
ME
brink
“the edge of a place, especially a steep one”
Modern English
English
brink
“the point just before something happens; an edge or verge”