Word Origin & History
breeze1560s, "north or northeast wind," from O.Sp. briza "cold northeast wind;" in W.Indies and Spanish Main, the sense shifting to "northeast trade wind," then "fresh wind from the sea." English sense of "gentle or light wind" is from 1620s. An alternative possibility is that the English word is from E.Fris.
EXPANDbrisen "to blow fresh and strong." The slang for "something easy" is Amer.Eng., c.1928; breezeway is 1931, Amer.Eng.
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