An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/bersten

by Friedrich Kluge

bersten, ‘to burst, crack,’ from Middle High German brësten, Old High German brëstan, ‘to break, tear, burst,’ impersonal ‘to be wanting, lacking’; er for re is properly Low German and Middle German; compare Dutch bersten, Anglo-Saxon berstan, English to burst. Compare farther the Aryan root bhrest (cognate with the root of brechen), in Old Irish brissim, ‘I break’ (ss from st).