bravo
Frequency
Hyphenated as
brà‧vo
Pronounced as (IPA)
/ˈbra.vo/
Etymology
Uncertain. Probably from Vulgar Latin *bravus, from a fusion of Latin prāvus and barbarus. Less likely from Provençal brau (“show-off”), from Gaulish *bragos (compare Middle Irish breagha (modern breá) 'fine', Breton braga 'to strut'). Or perhaps borrowed from a descendant of Proto-Germanic *hrawaz (“raw, uncooked”). Or possibly from a root *bravus, from bravium. Borrowed into French and English as brave. Pierre Carpentier, in an 18th-century edition of du Cange's 17th-century dictionary of medieval and modern Latin, argued Latin branus originated in a misreading of Italian and Spanish bravo. However, George Nicholson argues the opposite in a 1950 Festschrift article, namely bravo being a misreading of Latin branus, which would have the origin du Cange had originally argued for, from Old French brahaigne (“barren”) (see barren). Compare English gravy, possibly a misreading of French grané (“stew”).
Related words
bon
brav
bravo
bravo
brauSign in to write sticky notes
Start learning Italian with learnfeliz.
Practice speaking and memorizing "bravo" and many other words and sentences in Italian.
'%3e%3c/path%3e%3c/g%3e%3cdefs%3e%3cmarker%20markerWidth='4.5'%20markerHeight='4.5'%20refX='2.25'%20refY='2.25'%20viewBox='0%200%204.5%204.5'%20orient='auto'%20id='SvgjsMarker4023'%3e%3cpolygon%20points='0,4.5%201.5,2.25%200,0%204.5,2.25'%20fill='white'%3e%3c/polygon%3e%3c/marker%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e)