Etymology
1. 1565, "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." Eng. sense of "gentle or light wind" is from 1626. An alternate possibility is E.Fris.
brisen "to blow fresh and strong." The slang for "something easy" is Amer.Eng., c.1928;
breezeway is 1931, Amer.Eng.;
breezy "easygoing, jovial" is from 1870.
2. From the earlier (nautical) term brise, brize (“breeze”), from Middle English brees (“wind”). Ultimate origin obscure.
3. Variously supposed to derive from a Germanic source like Saterland Frisian Briese (“breeze”), West Frisian brys (“a cool wind”), Dutch bries (“breeze”), early Dutch brysen (“to blow cool and fresh”), or from Spanish brisa (“northeast wind”).
4. The earliest attestations are in Middle English brees (1460), Catalan brisa, and Italian brezza (all in 15th century), with Spanish (1504) and Portuguese briza (16th century) following closely after. The aforementioned Dutch cognates and French brise, however, are attested later than the term in English. The only internal hypothesis for any of those languages is a modification of Old Occitan bisa (“strong wind”), which is not widely accepted.
5. Compare also Albanian breshër (“hail”). See: Frisian, Saterlandic 'Briese', Dutch '
brysen'.