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brigade

Etymology and origin of the English word brigade

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1634
Borrowed from
French brigade
Ultimate origin
Italian (brigata)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French brigade
English brigade

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /brɪˈɡeɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French brigade (“body of soldiers”),[2][3][4][5] from Italian brigata (“troop, company, crowd”), from brigare (“to brawl, fight”), from briga (“strife, quarrel”),[2][3][4][6] which may be Celtic, compare Welsh bri (“power”),[3][7] or Germanic, related to the root of break.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

A subdivision of an army: 1634 in Merriam-Webster, 1637 in Barnhart and the OED, the 1630s in Etymonline.[5][2][8][3]

Semantic evolution

A company or crew of people (before 1649) is an obsolete sense.[8] A band of people organized for a purpose, such as fighting fires, is from 1806,[8] as in the fire brigade.[7] The verb, to form into a brigade, is from 1781 in Merriam-Webster, 1805 in the OED.[5][8] Brigadier is from 1678.[2]

Timeline

  • 1634 – a brigade.[5]
  • 1678 – brigadier.[2]
  • 1781 – to brigade (verb).[5]
  • 1806 – an organized band.[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A military unit smaller than a division, made of several battalions and usually commanded by a brigadier.
  2. A group of people organized for a task: a rescue brigade.

Verb

  1. To form into a brigade, or to group together.

Word family

  • interbrigade
  • subbrigade
  • bucket brigade
  • fire brigade
  • brigadier
  • brigadier general
  • brigand
  • brig

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Brigade.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/brigade. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·