bronze

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɹɒnz/ (UK); /bɹɑnz/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French bronze,^[2][3][4] from Italian bronzo (“bell metal, brass”),^[2][3] via Medieval Latin bronzium,^[3] of uncertain origin.^[2][5] It may come from Persian برنج (birinj, “brass, copper”),^[6][7][3] or be connected with the Latin Brundisium (Brindisi), whose bronze Pliny mentions as “aes Brundusinum”.^[3][2][4] Etymonline also mentions Venetian bronza, glowing coals.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The alloy of copper and tin: 1617 in the OED, 1721 in Etymonline;^[8][3] a work of art in bronze, before 1721, in Prior's Alma.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English bronze and brass were not distinguished, and both alloys were called bras (see brass).^[2][3] Like brass, bronze meant impudence (1728).^[8] The verb, to give the colour of bronze, is from the 1640s;^[3] to harden one's feelings is from 1726, and to tan by the sun from 1792.^[3] The brown colour is from 1817,^[8] and a bronze medal, usually for third place, from 1852.^[8] The Bronze Age is a term of archaeology for the age between stone and iron.^[9][10]

Timeline

• 1617 – the alloy.^[8]
• 1640s – the verb.^[3]
• before 1721 – a work of art in bronze.^[2]
• 1728 – impudence.^[8]
• 1792 – to tan.^[3]
• 1852 – bronze medal.^[8]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An alloy of copper and tin, sometimes with other metals.
2. A work of art, such as a statue, made of bronze.
3. A yellowish-brown colour.
4. A bronze medal, given for third place.

Adjective

1. Made of bronze; of the colour of bronze.

Verb

1. To give the colour or appearance of bronze to; to tan.

Word family

• bronzer
• bronzy
• bronzite
• bronze age
• bronze diabetes
• bronze medal
• Bronze Star
• phosphor bronze

Related words

• brass
• brazen

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins