Etymologically
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brad

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /bɹæd/; /bɹad/ (UK)[1]

Etymology

It is a variant of dialect brod,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old Norse broddr (“spike, point, shaft”),[2][5][3][6] from Proto-Germanic *brozdaz, source also of Old English brord, point, blade of grass, and Old High German brort, edge,[2][5][3] from PIE *bʰrs-dʰ-, from the root of bristle.[5][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A thin, flattish nail: 1295 as brod,[2][7] the late 13th century in Etymonline; brad in bradsmyth, a maker of nails, 1455.[5][2] Brod as a sprout or shoot is earlier, probably about 1200, in the Ormulum.[2]

Semantic evolution

The verb, to fasten with brads, is from 1794.[7] A slang sense is recorded from 1812.[7] The bradawl, an awl for making holes for brads, is 19th-century.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – brod, a shoot.[2]
  • 1295 – brod, a nail.[2]
  • 1455 – bradsmyth.[2]
  • 1794 – the verb.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A thin nail with a small head, or with a slight projection on one side instead of a head.

Word family

  • bradawl
  • brod
  • bristle

Usage notes

The OED also records brad as an obsolete form of bread and broad.[7]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press