Brugge
/ˈbrʏɣə/noun
Brugge is a historic city in northwest Belgium, known in English as Bruges.
Did you know?Brugge’s name is connected to an old Germanic word for a bridge or landing place, fitting a city whose medieval identity was shaped by waterways and crossings.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰrūg-
“A reconstructed root associated with crossing or bridge-like structures”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*brugjō
“Bridge or causeway”
Old Dutch
Old Dutch
brugga
“Bridge”
10th–12th Century
Old Dutch
Brugga / Bruggia
“A place-name associated with a bridge or crossing”
13th–15th Century
Middle Dutch
Brugghe
“The city later known in English as Bruges”
Modern English
English
Brugge
“The Dutch name of the Belgian city Bruges”