Etymologically
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bracelet

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Pronunciation

  • /ˈbɹeɪslət/, /ˈbɹeɪslɪt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English bracelet,[2] borrowed from Old French bracelet,[3][4][5][6] recorded in French from the 14th century,[4] a diminutive of bracel (“armlet, bracelet”),[3][4][7][8] from Latin bracchiāle (“armlet”),[4][9][6] a noun use of brāchiālis (“of the arm”),[10] from bracchium (“arm, forearm”).[4][9][3] Merriam-Webster, the Oxford Dictionary of English and Klein instead derive the French word directly from braz (“arm”), now bras, with a double diminutive suffix.[11][12][13][14] The Anglo-Norman form is recorded from 1423.[15] The simple bracel made only a brief appearance in English, about 1533.[9][3] The word is related to brace and embrace.[9][16]

Earliest recorded meaning

An ornamental band worn on the arm or wrist: 1438, in a will that leaves "a Bracelet of Gold" to the testator's wife.[3][2] Barnhart dates it to 1437.[5]

Semantic evolution

Johnson (1755) defined it simply as "an ornament for the arms".[17] From 1580 a bracelet was also a piece of armour covering the arm;[3][14] from 1624 to 1684 the word was applied to similar ornaments worn on other parts of the body.[3] The use for a fetter on the wrist, and in slang for handcuffs, is recorded from 1817, in Walter Scott,[3][9] although the Shorter Oxford dates it to the early 17th century.[14] Later technical senses are a line across the wrist in palmistry (1883) and a band of hair left on the legs of a clipped animal (1904).[3]

Timeline

  • 1438 – an ornamental band worn on the arm or wrist.[3][2]
  • 1580 – a piece of armour covering the arm.[3]
  • 1624 – an ornament worn on another part of the body (obsolete after 1684).[3]
  • 1817 – a fetter for the wrist; handcuffs.[3][9]
  • 1883 – in palmistry, a line across the wrist.[3]
  • 1904 – a band of hair left on the leg of a clipped animal.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An ornamental band, ring or chain worn around the wrist or arm: a silver bracelet with a single charm.
  2. (slang) bracelets: handcuffs.
  3. An expanding metal band for a wristwatch.
  4. (historical) A piece of armour covering the arm.
  5. (palmistry) A line crossing the wrist where it joins the hand.

Word family

  • braceleted
  • slave bracelet
  • tennis bracelet

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  6. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  8. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  9. ^ a b c d e f Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  11. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  12. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  13. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  14. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  15. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  16. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  17. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.