brickyoudaoicibaDictYouDict[brick 词源字典]
brick: [15] For what is today such a common phenomenon, the word brick made a surprisingly late entry into the English language. But of course until the later Middle Ages, bricks were very little used in Britain. It was not until the mid-15th century that they were introduced by Flemish builders, and they appear to have brought the word, Middle Dutch bricke, with them. The ultimate source of the word is not clear, although some have tried to link it with break.
[brick etymology, brick origin, 英语词源]
brick (n.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
early 15c., from Old French briche "brick," probably from a Germanic source akin to Middle Dutch bricke "a tile," literally "a broken piece," from the verbal root of break (v.). Meaning "a good, honest fellow" is from 1840, probably on notion of squareness (as in fair and square) though most extended senses of brick (and square) applied to persons in English are not meant to be complimentary. Brick wall in the figurative sense of "impenetrable barrier" is from 1886.
brick (v.)youdaoicibaDictYouDict
"to wall up with bricks," 1640s, from brick (n.). Related: Bricked; bricking.