brilliant

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈbrɪl.i.ənt/, US /ˈbrɪl.jənt/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French brillant (“shining, sparkling”),^[2][3][4] present participle of briller “to shine” (16th century),^[2][3] from Italian brillare (“to sparkle, whirl”),^[2][3][5] probably from brillo “beryl”,^[3][4] or perhaps from Vulgar Latin *berillāre “to shine like a beryl”,^[2] from Latin bēryllus (“beryl”),^[2][3][6] the source of beryl.^[3][2] Hoad calls the Italian verb of unknown origin.^[7] The English spelling -lli- represents the old sound of French -ll-.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Brightly shining, sparkling: 1681 in the OED and Barnhart,^[8][3] the 1680s in Etymonline.^[2] Hoad notes that it was not frequent before the 18th century.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Of diamonds, it refers from the 1680s to a cut with many facets invented in the 17th century by the Venetian cutter Vincenzo Peruzzi,^[2] and the noun, a diamond of the finest cut, is from 1690.^[8][4] Of qualities and actions, splendid or illustrious, it is from 1758,^[8] and of persons, distinguished by talent, from 1848.^[2][8] In weakened colloquial use, “amazing, fantastic”, it is from 1971,^[8] and the clipping brill came into use in the 1980s.^[6] Brilliance is from 1755.^[3]

Timeline

• 1681 – shining.^[8][3]
• 1690 – noun, a cut diamond.^[8]
• 1755 – brilliance.^[3]
• 1758 – splendid.^[8]
• 1848 – of talented persons.^[2][8]
• 1971 – fantastic.^[8]
• 1980s – brill.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Very bright or shining.
2. Very clever or talented: a brilliant scientist.
3. Outstanding or impressive.
4. (chiefly British informal) Excellent; wonderful.
5. Of colour, vivid and intense; of sound, sharp and clear.

Noun

1. A gem, especially a diamond, cut with many facets to give great sparkle.

Word family

• brilliantly
• brilliantness
• brilliance
• brilliancy
• overbrilliant
• unbrilliant

Related words

• brilliantine
• beryl
• beryllium

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 g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press