bravo English · revision 39817
22 Oct 2026, 21:50 by bogdan “English en10k en75e b05” current version
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+ Merriam-Webster and the OED give the hired ruffian and the cry of approval separate entries;^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026) both come from the same Italian adjective, borrowed at different times.^(SOED 2002)^(Weekley 1921)
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * UK: /ˈbɹɑːvəʊ/, /bɹɑːˈvəʊ/^(Wiktionary)
+ * US: /ˈbɹɑvoʊ/, /bɹɑˈvoʊ/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ {{homograph|1|hired ruffian}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1586, G. Whetstone, Mirrour for Magestrates of Citties|origins=it bravo}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The hired ruffian is [[bor|it|bravo|t=a bold man; a ruffian]], a noun use of [[m|it|bravo|t=bold, wild]],^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010)^(OED 2026) the Italian adjective behind [[brave]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) Klein derives the Italian word from [[la|barbarus]].^(Klein 1966)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ A hired killer or bully, a reckless desperado: 1586, in George Whetstone's ''Mirrour for Magestrates of Citties'', which speaks of the bravoes of Rome and Naples.^(GDoS) The OED's first quotation is from Samuel Daniel's ''Civil Wars'' (1609 edition), which Barnhart dates to 1597;^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(GDoS) Etymonline gives the 1590s and Merriam-Webster 1600.^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Johnson (1755) defined a bravo as a man who murders for hire,^(Johnson 1755)^(OED 2026) and Weekley remarked that Italian called a cowardly assassin a "brave man".^(Weekley 1921) In the early 17th century the word was also used for [[bravado]], a sense obsolete after 1742.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) The word is now chiefly historical or literary.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1586 – a hired killer or desperado.^(GDoS)
+ * 1616 – (obsolete) bravado.^(OED 2026)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A hired [[assassin]] or [[thug]]; a [[desperado]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)
+
+ {{homograph|2|well done}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1761, G. Colman, The Jealous Wife|origins=it bravo}}
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The cry of approval is [[bor|it|bravo|t=fine, splendid, well done]],^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(Weekley 1921) the same adjective as the noun meaning a ruffian,^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966) whose superlative is [[m|it|bravissimo]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) The Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English take it through [[m|fr|bravo]],^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010) and Barnhart thinks the existing English noun may have influenced it.^(Barnhart 1988)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Excellent! well done!: 1761, in George Colman's comedy ''The Jealous Wife''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ The interjection was used in applauding actors and singers;^(Klein 1966) in Italian the feminine ''brava'' is said to a woman and the plural ''bravi'' to several performers, and some English writers have followed this use.^(Klein 1966)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) As a noun, a shout of ''bravo'', it is recorded in 1806 in Merriam-Webster and in 1844 in the OED,^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026) and as a verb, to greet with cries of ''bravo'', from 1831.^(OED 2026) Since the early 1950s ''Bravo'' has been the code word for the letter B in radio communication,^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026) and in military use the name of the second unit of a group (1958).^(OED 2026)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1761 – interjection, well done!^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)
+ * 1806 – noun, a shout of approval.^(MWU 2024)
+ * 1831 – verb, to applaud with cries of bravo.^(OED 2026)
+ * 1953 – ''Bravo'', code word for B.^(OED 2026)
+
+ ==Modern meaning==
+ ===Interjection===
+ # Well done! Used to [[applaud]] a performer or praise an achievement.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # A cry of ''bravo''; a [[cheer]]: ''The tenor left the stage to loud bravos.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)
+ # ''Bravo'': a code word for the letter B in radio communication.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)
+
+ ===Verb===
+ # To greet or applaud with cries of ''bravo''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[bravissimo]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[brava]]
+ * [[brave]]
+ * [[bravado]]
+ * [[bravura]]
+ * [[barbarous]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ The Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary notes that the word is always stressed on the first syllable when used for the letter B in the international spelling alphabet.^(Roach et al. 2011)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}