brag
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English braggen (“to make a loud noise; to speak boastfully”) of unknown origin. Possibly related to the Middle English adjective brag (“prideful; spirited”), which is probably of Celtic origin;[1] or from Old Norse bragr (“best; foremost; poetry”);[2] or through Old English from Old Norse braka (“to creak”).[3]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
brag (plural brags)
- A boast or boasting; bragging; ostentatious pretence or self-glorification.
- 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:
- Caesar […] made not here his brag / Of "came", and "saw", and "overcame".
- The thing which is boasted of.
- 1634 October 9 (first performance), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey Robinson, […], published 1637, →OCLC; reprinted as Comus: […] (Dodd, Mead & Company’s Facsimile Reprints of Rare Books; Literature Series; no. I), New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1903, →OCLC:
- Beauty is Nature's brag.
- 2015 October 27, Matt Preston, The Simple Secrets to Cooking Everything Better[1], Plum, →ISBN, page 192:
- You could just use ordinary shop-bought kecap manis to marinade the meat, but making your own is easy, has a far more elegant fragrance and is, above all, such a great brag! Flavouring kecap manis is an intensely personal thing, so try this version now and next time cook the sauce down with crushed, split lemongrass and a shredded lime leaf.
- (by ellipsis) The card game three card brag.
- January 23 1752, Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, in Letters to His Son, published in 1774
- our mixed companies here, which, if they happen to rise above bragg and whist, infallibly stop short of every thing either pleasing or instructive
- January 23 1752, Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, in Letters to His Son, published in 1774
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
boast — see boast
Verb edit
brag (third-person singular simple present brags, present participle bragging, simple past and past participle bragged)
- (intransitive) To boast; to talk with excessive pride about what one has, is able to do, or has done; often as an attempt to popularize oneself.
- (transitive) To boast of something.
- to brag of one's exploits, courage, or money
- c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene vi]:
- Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, / Brags of his substance, not of ornament. / Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade
Synonyms edit
Hyponyms edit
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
to boast
Adjective edit
brag (comparative bragger, superlative braggest)
- Excellent; first-rate.
- (archaic) Brisk; full of spirits; boasting; pretentious; conceited.
- 1633 (first performance), Ben Jonson, “A Tale of a Tub. A Comedy […]”, in The Works of Beniamin Jonson, […] (Third Folio), London: […] Thomas Hodgkin, for H[enry] Herringman, E. Brewster, T. Bassett, R[ichard] Chiswell, M. Wotton, G. Conyers, published 1692, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
- a woundy, brag young fellow
Adverb edit
brag (comparative more brag, superlative most brag)
- (obsolete) proudly; boastfully
- 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Februarie. Aegloga Secunda.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC; reprinted as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, The Shepheardes Calender […], London: John C. Nimmo, […], 1890, →OCLC:
- Seest how brag yond bullock beare […] his pricked eares?
References edit
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “brag”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “wile”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.;
- ^ “brag”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Anagrams edit
Danish edit
Etymology edit
From Old Norse brak, related to braka (“to break, crack”).
Noun edit
brag n (singular definite braget, plural indefinite brag)
Inflection edit
Declension of brag
Related terms edit
- brage verb
Verb edit
brag
- imperative of brage
North Frisian edit
Etymology edit
From Old Frisian bregge, which derives from Proto-West Germanic *bruggju. Cognates include West Frisian brêge.
Noun edit
brag f (plural bragen)
Welsh edit
Etymology edit
From Middle Welsh brac, from Proto-Brythonic *brag, from Proto-Celtic *mrakis. Cognate with Irish braich.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
brag m (plural bragau)
- malt (sprouted grain used in brewing)
Mutation edit
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| brag | frag | mrag | unchanged |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||
Further reading edit
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “brag”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies