brigadier

Etymology

It is borrowed from French brigadier,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} formed from brigade with the suffix -ier.^[7][5][8] The OED marks the French origin with a query, noting that the French word is not in Cotgrave (1611);^[9] Barnhart thinks it probably borrowed from French, where it formerly meant a military officer, but possibly also formed in English from brigade and -ier.^[10] The French noun, in use since the 14th century, is from Italian brigata (“company, troop, crew”),^[10][2][9] from brigare (“to brawl, fight”), from briga (“strife, quarrel”).^{[2][10][3][11]} The OED traces the noun to Late Latin briga (“strife, contention”).^[9] Its further origin is uncertain: the American Heritage Dictionary and Etymonline suggest a Celtic word, from Proto-Indo-European *gʷerə- (“heavy”),^[3][2] while Barnhart suggests a Germanic one, comparing break.^[10] Word Origins notes that brigand goes back to the same Italian verb, through brigante (“foot soldier”).^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

An officer commanding a brigade, ranking between a colonel and a major general: 1678, in a letter of Sir C. Lyttelton.^[9][10] Etymonline dates the word to the 1670s,^[2] and Merriam-Webster gives 1668.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The OED's 1888 entry calls brigadier-general the more correct title and notes that in the British army the rank was only local or temporary;^[9] Etymonline also takes brigadier-general as the fuller form.^[2] In Britain brigadier became the name of the rank itself, in the Army and the Royal Marines, while in the United States the rank is brigadier general, above colonel and below major general in the Army, Air Force and Marine Corps.^[12][5][7] The French word kept a lower meaning: in Napoleon's armies, and later in the French army, a brigadier was a noncommissioned officer.^[12][7] The Salvation Army also uses the title.^[7] A brigadier wig was a full wig tied back in two curls.^[5]

Timeline

• 1678 – an officer commanding a brigade.^[9][10] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1668.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. In the British Army and the Royal Marines, an officer ranking above a colonel and below a major general, usually in command of a brigade.^[12][7][5]
2. In the United States forces, short for brigadier general.^[12][7]
3. (historical) A noncommissioned officer in the French army, as under Napoleon.^[12][7]
4. In the Salvation Army, an officer ranking above a senior major and below a lieutenant colonel.^[7]

Word family

• brigadiership
• brigadier general

Related words

• brigade
• brigand

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ a b c d e f Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
11. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins