bra

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɹɑː/^[1]

Etymology

It is a shortening of brassiere.^[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

By 1923 in Etymonline;^[2] the OED's first quotation is from 1936, and the New Oxford and Concise Oxford date it to the 1930s.^[3][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Braless is a later derivative.^[6][7] In North America a car bra or auto bra is a cover fitted over the front of a car.^[5][8] A different bra, in quantum mechanics a vector paired with a ket, is from 1947, from bra(cket).^[3][8] In South African slang bra is also a word for a friend or brother.^[7]

Timeline

• 1923 – bra, a brassiere.^[2]
• 1936 – first in the OED.^[3]
• 1947 – bra in quantum mechanics.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A woman's undergarment worn to support the breasts; a brassiere.

Word family

• braless
• bra burner

Related words

• brassiere
• bustier
• corset

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press