brutal

Forms

brutal (feminine brutale, masculine plural brutaux, feminine plural brutales)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin brūtālis (“savage, stupid”), from brūtus (“heavy, stupid”).^[2][1][3][4] The Grand Robert, the GLLF and the Petit Robert call the Latin word Late Latin.^[5][6][7] The DHLF notes that it described a person of brutish nature in the 11th and 12th centuries and things from 1243–1248.^[2] It belongs with brut and brute.^[8][3]

Compare Old Occitan brutal, Spanish brutal and Italian brutale.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded from the 14th century with the sense “of the nature of a brute, bestial”.^[2][3][8] The DMF quotes a fable collection of about 1480 in which a donkey is une beste brutale “a brute beast”.^[10]

Semantic evolution

The link with the animal was strong at first, helped by the noun un brutal “an animal”, and weakened from the 17th century.^[2] The word then stressed suddenness, roughness and violence, of a person and, by metonymy, of behaviour (1668) or an act; with a sense of time it describes what is sudden and unexpected.^[2] As a noun it has meant a violent, coarse person since 1672.^[2]

In familiar use le brutal was the cannon, as in Stendhal's La Chartreuse de Parme (1839);^[11] the DHLF dates this to 1744,^[2] while the BHVF lists records from 1793 and 1808.^[12] Slang also used it for bran bread (1899) and for brandy and ordinary wine (19th century).^[2][11]

The derivatives followed: brutalement (1428), brutalité (1539) and brutaliser (1572),^[2] and brutalisme (1890) and brutaliste (1908).^[11]

Timeline

• 14th century – First recorded, from Medieval Latin.^[2][3]
• 1428 – The adverb brutalement appears.^[2]
• c. 1480 – A fable calls the donkey une beste brutale.^[10]
• 1539 – Brutalité is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1668 – It is used of rough, violent behaviour.^[2]
• 1672 – The noun un brutal “a violent man” appears.^[2]
• 1744 – Le brutal is used for the cannon.^[2]
• 1890 – Brutalisme is recorded.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (dated) Brutish, animal-like;^[7][9] la force brutale: brute force, as opposed to the power of reason.^[7][9]
2. Of a person: inclined to violence, rough and coarse.^[7][9]
3. Of things: blunt, unsparing, not afraid to shock.^[7][11]
4. Sudden and violent: an abrupt change, a hard blow.^[7][11]

Noun

1. A brute, a violent and coarse person.^[7][1][9]
2. (dated, familiar) Le brutal: the cannon.^[11][9]
3. (slang) Ordinary wine or brandy.^[11][2]

Word family

• brutalement
• brutalité
• brutaliser
• brutalisme
• brutaliste

Related words

• brut
• brute
• abrutir
• Latin brūtus

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 579a
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
12. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF