Etymologically
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brat

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /bɹæt/[1]

Etymology

It is of uncertain origin,[2][3][4] perhaps a special use of dialect brat “coarse garment, apron, rag”,[2][5][3][4] from Middle English bratt, from Old English bratt (“cloak”),[2][5][6] which is of Celtic origin.[2][5][6][4] Old Irish bratt “cloak” is related.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A child, used with contempt (about 1505).[7][5][3]

Semantic evolution

How a word for a rag or a child's apron came to mean a child is unclear,[6][2] and the OED notes that evidence for the transition has not been found.[6] In the earliest uses it suggested an unwanted child rather than a badly behaved one.[6] The sense of an ill-mannered child is from 1808,[6] and the word was applied to childishly selfish adults by 1968.[6] Army brat and similar terms name the children of people in particular careers.[3][1]

Timeline

  • about 950 – Old English bratt, a cloak.[5][7]
  • about 1395 – a coarse garment.[5][6]
  • about 1505 – a child, in contempt.[7][5][3]
  • 1808 – an ill-mannered child.[6]
  • 1968 – a childishly selfish adult.[6]
  • 1985 – Brat Pack, young Hollywood actors.[7][6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A child, especially a spoiled or ill-mannered one.
  2. An immature, selfish person of any age.
  3. The child of a career military person or of someone in a particular field, as in army brat.

Word family

  • brattish
  • brattishness
  • brattiness
  • bratty
  • Brat Pack
  • army brat

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press