Etymologically
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bravado

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /bɹɑˈvɑdoʊ/, /bɹəˈvɑdoʊ/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French bravade (“bragging, boasting”)[2][3][4] or Spanish bravada,[5][2][6] both from Italian bravata (“bragging, boasting”),[2][3][4] from bravare “to brag, be defiant”,[2][3][4] from bravo “brave, bold”.[2][3][5] It is related to brave.[5][2][3] The ending was reshaped after Spanish words in -ado already used in English, such as desperado.[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Boastful or pretentiously bold behaviour (1583).[2][3] The form bravade is recorded from 1579.[2]

Semantic evolution

From the start it meant an ostentatious show of courage, often meant to intimidate.[7][3] In the 17th and 18th centuries it was also a noun for a swaggering fellow, a bully.[3][7] The modern word stresses a pretence of bravery that may hide fear.[5][4][6]

Timeline

  • 1579 – bravade.[2]
  • 1583 – bravado.[2][7]
  • 1599 – boastful or threatening behaviour.[7]
  • 1653 – a swaggering fellow (obsolete).[7]
  • 1800 – verb, to show bravado.[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Defiant, swaggering behaviour.
  2. A false show of courage.
  3. A tendency to show off defiance; foolhardiness.

References

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