In the winter, my son and his friend participated in the school’s “Winter Market.” It was the ability to create a product (of artistic nature) to sell to benefit the school. They made these amazing pins which were all one piece of metal bent in the shape of animals. It was a long production process with lots of trial and errors because, y‘know, they are young and it was their first time selling products. They got to the “merchandizing” part where they were making the signs and such and a beautifully elegant handwritten chalk sign appeared, “Pretty in Brooches.”

The other mom and I gave each other “the look.” It’s the look that moms give each other that means, “Should we say something?” She and I both had the same thought – <brooches> is spelled wrong!! We approached them expressing our concern. They gave us the usual teenage eye roll and stated that it was correct. They indicated that this was the name they submitted their proposal under (to the school) and we, parents, should not be concerned.

So began the research of <broaches> vs. <brooches>. My first attempt was an entry by Websters that indicated that <brooch> and <broach> were variant spellings. I didn’t buy it. There had to be something more. Upon further research, I found out these words have very similar but different meanings.

A brooch is a pin that you wear. When the brooch was invented, it was functional. It served to close pieces of clothing so as to not show parts of the body unexpectedly. In medieval times, brooches looked like a ring with a long metal needle attached for the purpose of fastening cloaks. They were worn by both men and women. Over time, there has been a whole array of brooches from those that look like a floral sprig to the cameo of a person’s head. Etymologically, the word comes from French broche which means a long needle.

In fact, a Roman clasp is called a fibula. In Latin, “fibula” referred to “clasp, brooch; bolt, peg, pin.” In modern times, the fibula refers to the lower leg bone. This bone was actually named after the brooch or safety pin-like shape used for fastening clothes.

So, that still leaves us with <broach>. If a pin is spelled as <brooch>, what is a <broach> really? And, why do we both have this misconception of it?

The word <broach> also comes from Old French broche. A “broach” is a pointed instrument. While it could mean a “brooch,” it could also mean a spit for roasting, an awl, or a top (that spins). The pointiness of such an object is not reserved for clothing clasping.

As a verb, <broach> means to pierce. It is common to say, “Let me see if I can broach that subject.” The idea is to pierce or enter a subject, that might be difficult to bring up. The etymology of <broach> is from Latin “broccus” which means “pointed, projecting.” Words that are related to “broccus” include broccoli, brocade, and bronco.

In essence, the kids were right! Brooches is the correct word for the jewelry that they made, despite any preconceived notions that us adults had.

The last thought is about the graphemes. Are there any other words in which the <oo> grapheme writes the /oʊ/ phoneme? Let us know if you find one.

References

Bernstein, Beth. “A History of Brooches: the Evolution of Style.” The Jeweller Editor, 9 Oct. 2016, www.thejewelleryeditor.com/jewellery/vintage/know-how/history-of-brooches-evolution-of-style/.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Brooch.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 31 Oct. 2011, www.britannica.com/art/brooch.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Fibula.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 22 Nov. 2013, www.britannica.com/art/fibula-jewelry.