Dictionary

brifka en · NOUN

Etymology

Yiddish בריווקע (brivke, “little letter”), a diminutive of Yiddish בריוו (briv), meaning a (postal) letter. Brifka is thus a "little letter". In turn derived from Old High German briaf, which is borrowed from Latin breve, a neuter form of Latin brevis (“short”). Cognates include Middle Dutch, Middle High German brief, and Dutch brief, Old Norse bréf, Old Saxon brēf (all of them borrowed from Latin) and English brief.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) a small folding envelope used for keeping diamonds or other gemstones in
   • With a pair of tweezers, he removed a dazzling rose-coloured crystal from the brifka 2014, Echo Freer, Diamond Geezers:
2. (countable, uncountable) by extension a gem envelope including its contents

Forms

wikipedia: Etymological Dictionary of the German Language · wikipedia: Elmar Seebold · wikipedia: de:Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache