User-submitted Reference

Bronfen means 'whisky' in Yiddish. It may also refer to hard liquors such as vodka and moonshine. I've researched the etymology of the root words bronf and branf (very often Yiddish changes words from "a" to "o"), nothing came out. Since Yiddish is mostly a mix of other languages. I've checked dictionaries of: Polish, Russian, German, Czech, and French - which make up for most words from the Yiddish language and they reveal nothing. My guess is bronfen is a toungue-in-cheek expression for 'getting wasted', like the word saufen. The "en" ending on Yiddish words indicate it's a verb. In this case, to drink heavy liquor. Now let's look at the last name variations: Bronfman - mispelling of Bronfmann, (lit. man of the whisky) man who drinks, has or sells whisky. Bronfenmajer - Spanish transliteration of Bronfenmacher. Bronfen (whisky) + macher (maker, in German and Yiddish) Bronfentrinker - whisky drinker. Bronfenbrener - misspelling of Bronfenbrenner. Bronfenbrenner - this is where it gets interesting. It literally means whisky/liquor burner. Yiddish is relatively a new language and many people who spoke it were living in isolated and dispersed shteitls (villages), so their vocabulary was very limited.Therefore the only possible meaning is: liquor distiller. I never heard of whisky made in the shteitls or in Eastern Europe at that time, so it must be some other potable grain alcohol. Something to give people a "kick" to better endure their winters.