Etymologically
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bronze

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 12:39. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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