brunt English · revision 1604

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bɹʌnt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English and of uncertain origin,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) perhaps Scandinavian.^(AHD) Etymonline suggests Old Norse ''brundr'' “sexual heat” or ''bruna'' “to advance like wildfire”,^(Etymonline) and Random House relates it to German ''Brunft'' “rut” and to [[burn]].^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A sharp blow (about 1325 in the OED; about 1380 in Barnhart).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From a blow the word passed to an assault or charge (1430)^(OED 1989) and then to the shock or force of an attack.^(OED 1989) By the early 15th century it meant the chief force or worst part of something,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995) as in ''bear the brunt'',^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary) and this is the main surviving sense.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * about 1325 – a sharp blow, now obsolete.^(OED 1989)

+ * about 1420 – main force or violence.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1430 – an assault or charge.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1598 – the chief stress or violence.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The main force or impact, as of an [[attack]] or blow.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The heaviest part of a [[burden]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Random House gives ''thrust'', ''stress'' and ''burden'' as synonyms.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}