brink

From Middle English brinke, from Proto-Germanic *brinkaz (compare Dutch brink (“grassland”), dialectal German Brunkel, Icelandic brekka (“slope”)), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰren- (“project”) (compare Tocharian B prenke (“island”), Irish braine (“prow”)).

• IPA^(key): /bɹɪŋk/
• Rhymes: -ɪŋk

brink (plural brinks)

1. The edge, margin, or border of a steep place, as of a precipice; a bank or edge.

   the brink of a river

2. (figuratively) The edge or border

   the brink of success

   He's on the brink of madness.

• brinkmanship
• on the brink

• brink in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• brink in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

From Middle Dutch brinc, from Old Dutch brink, from Proto-Germanic *brinkaz.

Cognate with English brink.

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brink m (plural brinken, diminutive brinkje n)

1. village green, functioning as a central square
2. edge or margin of a field
3. edge or margin of a hill
4. grassy edge or margin of a strip of land
5. grassland

• brinkdorp

brink

1. Alternative form of brinke