brush

English has two main words spelled brush: the undergrowth or brushwood, and the implement with bristles; they may come from the same French source.^[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɹʌʃ/^[4]

brush¹ undergrowth

Etymology

The undergrowth is Middle English brusche, borrowed from Anglo-Norman bruce (“brushwood”), Old French broce (“bush, thicket”),^[1][3][2][5] from Gallo-Romance *brocia, perhaps from *brūcus, heather (see brier),^[1][3] or, as Hoad and SOED suggest, ultimately from Latin bruscum (“knot on a maple”).^[2][5] MWU suggests a Celtic origin, comparing Old Irish fróech, heather.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Loppings of trees and hedges: 1330 in the OED,^[7] before 1338, in Mannyng's Chronicle, in Barnhart.^[1]

Semantic evolution

Small trees and shrubs, a thicket or undergrowth, is from about 1440.^[7] Thinly settled scrubland, as in Australia and North America, is the brush.^[8][9] Barnhart notes that the many forms in English and French suggest the two brushes were confused and may once have been one word.^[1]

Timeline

• 1330 – loppings of trees.^[7]
• c. 1440 – undergrowth, a thicket.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. Dense undergrowth of shrubs and small trees; a thicket.
2. Cut branches; brushwood.
3. Thinly settled country covered with scrub.

Word family

• brushwood

brush² implement with bristles

Etymology

The implement is Middle English brusshe, borrowed from Old French broisse (“brush”), modern French brosse,^[1][3][2][6] usually derived from Vulgar Latin *bruscia, a bunch of new shoots used to sweep away dust,^[1][3] perhaps the same word as the undergrowth;^[2][5] Etymonline suggests a Germanic *bruskaz, underbrush.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

An implement for sweeping or scrubbing: 1377 in the OED, about 1378, in a version of Piers Plowman, in Barnhart.^[7][1]

Semantic evolution

A brush for applying paint is from the late 15th century,^[3] and one for playing drums from 1927.^[3] The verb, to beat or rub with a brush, is from the mid-15th century, and to clean clothing with a brush from the late 15th century.^[3][1] To touch lightly in passing is from the 1640s.^[3] Brush up, to revive one's knowledge, is from 1788, and brush off, to dismiss, from 1941.^[3] A fox's bushy tail is its brush.^[8][9] A brief encounter or skirmish, as in a brush with the law, may be from a separate brush, to rush, from Old French brosser.^[2][8]

Timeline

• 1377 – a brush for sweeping.^[7]
• mid-15th century – the verb.^[3]
• late 15th century – a paintbrush.^[3]
• 1640s – to touch lightly.^[3]
• 1788 – brush up.^[3]
• 1941 – brush off.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An implement with bristles, hair or wire set in a handle, used for cleaning, painting or grooming.
2. An act of brushing, or a light touch.
3. A brief, often unpleasant encounter: a brush with death.
4. The bushy tail of a fox.

Verb

1. To clean, groom or apply with a brush.
2. To touch lightly in passing.
3. brush aside or brush off: to dismiss or ignore.

Word family

• paintbrush
• toothbrush
• hairbrush
• brush-off

Related words

• broom
• brier
• bristle

References

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