Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Brave

Brave

,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Braver
;
sup
erl.
Bravest
.]
[F.
brave
, It. or Sp.
bravo
, (orig.) fierce, wild, savage, prob. from. L.
barbarus
. See
Barbarous
, and cf.
Bravo
.]
1.
Bold; courageous; daring; intrepid; – opposed to
cowardly
;
as, a
brave
man; a
brave
act
.
2.
Having any sort of superiority or excellence; – especially such as in conspicuous.
[Obs. or Archaic as applied to material things.]
Iron is a
brave
commodity where wood aboundeth.
Bacon.
It being a
brave
day, I walked to Whitehall.
Pepys.
3.
Making a fine show or display.
[Archaic]
Wear my dagger with the
braver
grace.
Shakespeare
For I have gold, and therefore will be
brave
.
In silks I’ll rattle it of every color.
Robert Greene.
Frog and lizard in holiday coats
And turtle
brave
in his golden spots.
Emerson.
Syn. – Courageous; gallant; daring; valiant; valorous; bold; heroic; intrepid; fearless; dauntless; magnanimous; high-spirited; stout-hearted. See
Gallant
.

Brave

,
Noun.
1.
A brave person; one who is daring.
The star-spangled banner, O,long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the
brave
.
F. S. Key.
2.
Specifically, an Indian warrior.
3.
A man daring beyond discretion; a bully.
Hot
braves
like thee may fight.
Dryden.
4.
A challenge; a defiance; bravado.
[Obs.]
Demetrius, thou dost overween in all;
And so in this, to bear me down with
braves
.
Shakespeare

Brave

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Braved
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Braving
.]
1.
To encounter with courage and fortitude; to set at defiance; to defy; to dare.
These I can
brave
, but those I can not bear.
Dryden.
2.
To adorn; to make fine or showy.
[Obs.]
Thou [a tailor whom Grunio was browbeating] hast
braved
meny men; brave not me; I'll neither be faced or braved.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition

Brave

BRAVE

,
Adj.
1.
Courageous; bold; daring; intrepid; fearless of danger; as a brave warrior. It usually unites the sense of courage with generosity and dignity of mind; qualities often united.
The brave man will not deliberately do an injury to his fellow man.
2.
Gallant; lofty; graceful; having a noble mien.
3.
Magnificent; grand; as a brave place.
4.
Excellent; noble; dignified. But in modern usage, it has nearly lost its application to things.
5.
Gaudy; showy in dress.

BRAVE

,
Noun.
A hector; a man daring beyond discretion or decency.
Hot braves like these may fight.
1.
A boast; a challenge; a defiance.

BRAVE

,
Verb.
T.
To defy; to challenge; to encounter with courage and fortitude, or without being moved; to set at defiance.
The ills of love I can brave.
The rock that braves the tempest.
1.
To carry a boasting appearance of; as, to brave that which they believe not.

Definition 2024

brave

brave

See also: bravé

English

Adjective

brave ‎(comparative braver, superlative bravest)

  1. Strong in the face of fear; courageous.
    • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, Chapter 21:
      Do not fret, dear. You must be brave and strong, and help me through the horrible task. If you only knew what an effort it is to me to tell of this fearful thing at all, you would understand how much I need your help.
    • 1987, Michael Grumley, The Last Diary:
      […] he has been so brave, giving it all a dignity.
  2. (obsolete) Having any sort of superiority or excellence.
    • Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
      Iron is a brave commodity where wood aboundeth.
    • Samuel Pepys (1633-1703)
      It being a brave day, I walked to Whitehall.
  3. Making a fine show or display.
    • William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)
      Wear my dagger with the braver grace.
    • Robert Greene (1558-1592)
      For I have gold, and therefore will be brave. / In silks I'll rattle it of every color.
    • Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
      Frog and lizard in holiday coats / And turtle brave in his golden spots.
    • 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, OCLC 29686887 , chapter IV:
      So this was my future home, I thought! Certainly it made a brave picture. I had seen similar ones fired-in on many a Heidelberg stein. Backed by towering hills, […] a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Noun

brave ‎(plural braves)

  1. (dated, possibly offensive) A Native American warrior.
  2. (obsolete) A man daring beyond discretion; a bully.
    • John Dryden
      Hot braves like thee may fight.
  3. (obsolete) A challenge; a defiance; bravado.
    • William Shakespeare
      Demetrius, thou dost overween in all; / And so in this, to bear me down with braves.

Translations

Verb

brave ‎(third-person singular simple present braves, present participle braving, simple past and past participle braved)

  1. (transitive) To encounter with courage and fortitude, to defy.
    • (Can we date this quote?), John Dryden
      These I can brave, but those I can not bear.
    • 1773, A Farmer, Rivington's New-York Gazetteer, Number 53, December 2
      […] but they [Parliament] never will be braved into it.
    After braving tricks on the high-dive, he braved a jump off the first diving platform.
  2. (transitive, obsolete) To adorn; to make fine or showy.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Shakespeare
      Thou [a tailor whom Grunio was browbeating] hast braved many men; brave not me; I'll neither be faced or braved.

Translations

Derived terms

Esperanto

Etymology 1

brava +‎ -e

Adverb

brave

  1. bravely, valiantly

Etymology 2

From Italian bravo.

Interjection

brave

  1. bravo

French

Etymology

Probably borrowed from Italian bravo, itself from a Latin *bravus, a fusion of prāvus and barbarus. Compare Spanish, Portuguese bravo.

Pronunciation

Adjective

brave m, f ‎(plural braves)

  1. brave
  2. honest

Synonyms

Noun

brave m ‎(plural braves)

  1. hero

Related terms

Anagrams

German

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aːvə

Adjective

brave

  1. inflected form of brav

Italian

Adjective

brave f pl

  1. feminine plural of bravo

Norman

Etymology

From Late Latin *bravus.

Adjective

brave m, f

  1. brave

Derived terms

Etymology

From French brave, borrowed from Italian bravo, itself either from Provençal brau ‎(“show-off”), from Gaulish *bragos (compare Middle Irish breagha (modern breá) 'fine', Breton braga 'to strut') or from Latin *bravus, from a fusion of pravus and barbarus into a root *bravus. Or else misread from Latin brana,[1] from Gaulish brahaigne, "barren".[2]

  1. ↑ http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/brave-etymology-word-origin/
  2. ↑ http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/BRANA

Pronunciation

  • enPR: brāv, IPA(key): /breɪv/
  • Rhymes: -eɪv

Similar Results