The Spanish word 'broma', meaning 'joke' or 'jest', has an interesting etymology that traces back to Ancient Greek. It comes from the Greek word 'βρῶμα' (broma), which referred to a woodworm or teredo (a type of mollusk that bores into wooden structures like ship hulls). This Greek word itself derived from 'βιβρώσκειν' (bibroskein), meaning 'to eat greedily.'

The semantic evolution from 'woodworm' to 'joke' likely developed through the concept of something that 'eats away' at seriousness or through the notion of something that's annoying but ultimately trivial - similar to how a woodworm might be a nuisance that 'eats away' at wood. This kind of semantic shift, where a concrete meaning evolves into a more abstract one, is common in language development.

While 'broma' itself is a relatively common Spanish word, there aren't many simpler or more common Spanish words that share its Greek etymology. This is because this particular Greek root didn't produce many other commonly used words in Spanish.

While the Greek root 'βρῶμα' (broma) isn't widely represented in common English vocabulary, it does appear in some scientific terms. For example, 'bromophagia' (meaning excessive or abnormal eating) contains this Greek root combined with '-phagia' (eating). However, note that this is different from words containing 'bromo-' related to the chemical element bromine, which has a different etymology.