brosse

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bʁɔs/^[1]

Forms

brosse f (plural brosses)^[1] Old French broce (1165–1170), broisse (about 1300).^[2][3]

Etymology

The origin is obscure.^[2] Bloch and Wartburg, the FEW and the GLLF derive it from Vulgar Latin *bruscia (“growth of shoots”),^[3][4][5] from Latin bruscum (“knot on the maple”) (Pliny), perhaps a Celtic word, which Catalan brossa and Spanish broza (“bark debris, twigs”) seem to support;^[3][2] but Rey points out that the passage from “bruscum” to “bruscia” is difficult, and that “broisse”, the form expected, appears relatively late.^[2] Another proposal is “*broccia”, from Gaulish “*wroikos” “heather” (see bruyère), also difficult phonetically.^[2][6] P. Guiraud reconstructed “*broccia” from Latin broccus (“with projecting teeth”) (see broche).^[2][6] Diez and Littré took it from a Germanic word for “bristle”, Old High German burst (German Bürste (“brush”));^[7] Rey and Wiktionary consider this least likely, since the Germanic word does not mean “brushwood”.^[2][1]

English brush, in both senses “undergrowth” and “brush”, comes from the French word.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Old French broce (1165–1170) meant brushwood, a thicket of heather and briars.^[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

Old and Middle French used it for a thicket and a place full of brambles, and figuratively for a close-packed body of troops, Furetière still has brosses (1690), and the sense survives in forestry (1838) and in broussaille and brousse.^[2][3]

The modern sense, a cleaning implement made of bristles, appears about 1300 (broisse), from the idea of a mass of stiff points;^[2][3][8] Jean de Meun's Testament compares conscience pricking a man to a broisse.^[7] Phrases include brosse à dents (1751), brosse à ongles (1835) and brosse à reluire “flattery” (1944); in painting a brosse is a brush (1680), and cheveux en brosse a crew cut (1844).^[2] In Belgium brosse keeps the sense “broom”, and in Quebec prendre une brosse means “to get drunk”.^[2][1] The verb brosser dates from 1374.^[2]

Timeline

• 1165–1170 – Broce “brushwood”.^[2]
• c. 1300 – Broisse “brush”.^[2]
• 1374 – Bruissier “to brush”.^[2]
• 1559 – Broussaille.^[3]
• 1680 – A painter's brush.^[2]
• 1751 – Brosse à dents.^[2]
• 1844 – En brosse.^[2]
• 1944 – Brosse à reluire.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A brush: brosse à dents, brosse à cheveux, brosse à habits.^[8][9]
2. A paintbrush (of an artist or decorator).^[4][9]
3. Cheveux en brosse, une brosse: a crew cut.^[4][1]
4. (familiar) Manier la brosse à reluire: to toady, flatter.^[8][10]
5. (Belgium) A broom.^[9][2]
6. (Quebec, familiar) Prendre une brosse: to get drunk.^[2][1]
7. (obsolete) Brushwood, thicket.^[4][2]

Word family

• brossage
• brosser
• brosseur
• brossier
• broussaille
• brousse
• brossée

Related words

• bruyère
• English brush

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 572a
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)