The Spanish verb 'quebrantar', meaning 'to break' or 'shatter', traces its origins to Latin. It developed from the Vulgar Latin verb '*crepantare', which meant 'to break'. This verb was derived from the Latin present participle 'crepans', meaning 'cracking, breaking'. The evolution from 'crepans' to 'quebrantar' involved several phonetic changes typical of the development from Latin to Spanish, including the transformation of initial 'cr-' to 'qu-' and the insertion of '-b-' between the first two syllables.

A simpler and more common related Spanish word is 'quebrar', which also means 'to break' and shares the same Latin root. Another related word is 'quebranto', meaning 'grief' or 'sorrow' - showing how the physical meaning of breaking evolved to include emotional breaking or distress.

While not directly related, English speakers might find it interesting that the word 'crevasse' (a deep crack or fissure, especially in a glacier) and 'crevice' (a narrow crack or fissure) come from the same Latin root 'crepare' that gave rise to 'quebrantar'. These words all share the core meaning of breaking or cracking.