brutal

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɹuːtəl/ (UK); /ˈbɹu.təl/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French brutal or directly Medieval Latin brutalis,^[2][3][4][5] from Latin brūtus (“heavy, dull, stupid”) (see brute).^[2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the beasts, as opposed to humans; animal: about 1450 in the OED, the mid-15th century in Etymonline;^[6][2] the late 15th century in NODE.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Of persons, lacking intelligence or reason, it is from about 1510,^[6][2] and as rude as a brute beast, coarse, from 1709.^[6] Inhuman, coarsely cruel or savage, is from 1641 (the 1640s).^[6][2][4] Harsh or extreme, as of weather, and unpleasantly frank, are later senses.^[7][8] Brutality is 16th-century and brutalize 18th-century.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1450 – animal.^[6]
• c. 1510 – unreasoning.^[6]
• 1641 – cruel.^[6]
• 1709 – coarse.^[6]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Extremely cruel or ruthless; savage.
2. Crude or unfeeling in speech or manner, or painfully honest.
3. Harsh or severe: brutal cold.

Word family

• brutally
• brutalise
• Brutalism
• brutalize
• nonbrutal
• overbrutal

Related words

• brutality
• brute
• brutish

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ 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
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins