brave

English edit

Pronunciation edit

enPR: brāv, IPA^(key): /bɹeɪv/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -eɪv

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle French brave, borrowed from Italian bravo, itself of uncertain origin (see there). Doublet of bravo.

Adjective edit

brave (comparative braver or more brave, superlative bravest or most brave)

Strong in the face of fear; courageous.
Synonyms: bold, daring, doughty, orped, resilient, stalwart

Antonyms: cowardly, fearful, mean, weak
- 1578–1579, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale. [...] Dedicated to the Right Honorable the Ladie Compton and Mountegle”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. Whereof the Next Page Maketh Mention‎^[1], London: Imprinted for VVilliam Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head, published 1591, →OCLC:
  For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne.
- 1897, Bram Stoker, chapter 21, in Dracula, New York, N.Y.: Modern Library, →OCLC:
  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.
(obsolete) Having any sort of superiority or excellence.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene v:
  Is it not paſſing braue to be a King,
  And ride in triumph through Perſepolis?
- 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Plantations”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:
  Iron is a brave commodity where wood aboundeth.
- February 18, 1666, Samuel Pepys,, diary entry
  It being a brave day, I walked to Whitehall.
Making a fine show or display.
- c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
  Their plumed helmes are wrought with beaten golde,
  Their ſwords enameld, and about their neckes
  Hangs maſſie chaines of golde downe to the waſte,
  In euery part exceding braue and rich.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:
  Wear my dagger with the braver grace.
- 1611, John Cooke, Greene's Tu Quoque:
  For I have gold, and therefore will be brave. / In silks I'll rattle it of every color.
- 1867, Ralph Waldo Emerson, May-Day:
  Frog and lizard in holiday coats / And turtle brave in his golden spots.
- 1908, W[illiam] B[lair] M[orton] Ferguson, chapter IV, in Zollenstein, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
  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.
(UK, euphemistic) Foolish or unwise.
Synonym: courageous

Synonyms edit

(courageous): See also Thesaurus:brave

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

strong in the face of fear

Afrikaans: dapper (af), braaf
Albanian: i guximshëm (sq)
Arabic: شُجَاع (ar) (šujāʕ), جَرِيء (jarīʔ), جَسُور (jasūr)
Egyptian Arabic: شجيع (šagīʕ)
Aragonese: please add this translation if you can
Armenian: քաջ (hy) (kʻaǰ)
Aromanian: gioni
Asturian: bravu (ast), valiente
Azerbaijani: cəsur (az), mərd (az), comərd, ürəkli (az)
Bashkir: батыр (batır), ҡыйыу (qıyıw)
Basque: ausart
Belarusian: хра́бры (xrábry), адва́жны (be) (advážny), сме́лы (be) (smjély)
Bengali: সাহসী (bn) (śahośi)
Breton: kaloneg
Bulgarian: хра́бър (bg) (hrábǎr), смел (bg) (smel)
Burmese: ရဲရင့် (my) (rai:rang.), သတ္တိကောင်း (my) (satti.kaung:)
Catalan: valent (ca), coratjós, audaç (ca)
Chechen: майра (majra)
Cherokee: ᏧᎵᏨᏯᏍᏗ (tsulitsvyasdi)
Chinese:
Gan: ^{(please verify)} 勇敢 (iûng-gôn), ^{(please verify)} 有量 (îu liòng), ^{(please verify)} 猛 (mûng), ^{(please verify)} 敢 (gon³), ^{(please verify)} 俹／𱎫 (ngâ)

Mandarin: 勇敢 (zh) (yǒnggǎn)
Czech: odvážný (cs) m, statečný (cs) m
Danish: modig (da)
Dutch: moedig (nl)
Esperanto: brava, kuraĝa (eo)
Estonian: vapper, vahva (et), julge (et)
Faroese: djarvur m
Finnish: rohkea (fi), urhea (fi), reipas (fi)
French: courageux (fr)
Friulian: di fiât
Galician: bravo (gl), valente
Georgian: გამბედავი (gambedavi), მამაცი (mamaci), გულადი (guladi), გაბედული (gabeduli), ვაჟკაცი (važḳaci), გულოვანი (gulovani)
German: tapfer (de), mutig (de)
Greek: γενναίος (el) (gennaíos), θαρραλέος (el) (tharraléos)
Ancient: ἀνδρεῖος (andreîos), θρασύς (thrasús)
Gujarati: please add this translation if you can
Haitian Creole: brav
Hausa: please add this translation if you can
Hawaiian: koa
Hebrew: אַמִּיץ (he) m (amitz), אמיצה f (amitza)
Hindi: बहादुर (hi) (bahādur), व्यकित m (vyakit)
Hungarian: bátor (hu)
Icelandic: hugrakkur (is)
Ido: brava (io), kurajoza (io)
Igbo: ebube (ig)
Indonesian: berani (id)
Ingush: майра (majra)
Interlingua: please add this translation if you can
Irish: calma, misniúil, cróga, móruchtúil, fearúil
Italian: coraggioso (it), ardito (it), baldo (it), audace (it), valoroso (it), impavido (it)
Japanese: 勇敢な (ja) (ゆうかんな, yūkan na), 勇気ある (ja) (ゆうきある, yūki aru) (used as adnominal only), 勇猛な (ja) (ゆうもうな, yūmō na), 雄々しい (おおしい, ooshii)
Javanese: wani
Kannada: please add this translation if you can
Kazakh: ержүрек (erjürek), батыл (batyl), батыр (batyr), дәділ (dädıl)
Khmer: ក្លាហាន (km) (klaa haan)
Korean: 용감하다 (ko) (yonggamhada)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: ئازا (ckb) (aza), قارەمان (qareman)
Kyrgyz: кайраттуу (ky) (kayrattuu), жүрөктүү (ky) (jüröktüü), батымдуу (batımduu)
Ladino: korajozo
Lao: ກຳແຫງ (kam ngǣ), ກ້າຫານ (kā hān), ກ້າ (lo) (kā)
Latin: animosus, fortis (la), magnanimus
Latvian: drosmīgs, drošs (lv)
Lithuanian: drąsus (lt)
Luxembourgish: daper, couragéiert
Macedonian: хра́бар (hrábar), смел (smel)
Malay: berani
Malayalam: ധീര (ml) (dhīra), ധൈര്യമുള്ള (dhairyamuḷḷa)
Maltese: kuraġġuż
Manchu: ᠪᠠᡨᡠ᠋ᡵᡠ (baturu)
Maori: hautoa, māia, toa (mi)
Marathi: चातुर्य (cāturya)
Middle English: doughty
Mirandese: please add this translation if you can
Mongolian: эрэлхэг (mn) (erelxeg), зоригтой (mn) (zorigtoj)
Norman: brave
Norwegian: modig (no)
Occitan: coratjós (oc), valent (oc)
Odia: please add this translation if you can
Ojibwe: (to be brave, strong-hearted) zoongide'e
Old English: beald
Old Javanese: wani
Ottawa: (to be brave, strong-hearted) aakde'e, zoongde'e
Ottoman Turkish: قوچاق (koçak)
Pashto: please add this translation if you can
Persian: شجاع (fa) (šojâ'), دلیر (fa) (delir), نیو (fa) (niv)
Plautdietsch: brow
Polish: odważny (pl) m, chrobry (pl), dzielny (pl) m
Portuguese: bravo (pt), valente (pt), corajoso (pt)
Punjabi: please add this translation if you can
Rajasthani: please add this translation if you can
Romanian: curajos (ro), brav (ro)
Russian: хра́брый (ru) (xrábryj), сме́лый (ru) (smélyj), отва́жный (ru) (otvážnyj), бесстра́шный (ru) (besstrášnyj), бра́вый (ru) (brávyj)
Scots: wicht
Scottish Gaelic: misneachail, tapaidh
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: храбар

Roman: hrabar (sh)
Sicilian: curaggiusu (scn)
Sindhi: please add this translation if you can
Sinhalese: please add this translation if you can
Slovak: odvážny, statočný
Slovene: pogumen (sl) m, hraber m
Somali: geesi (so)
Southern Altai: јӱректӱ (ǰürektü)
Spanish: valiente (es), valeroso (es), corajudo (es)
Swahili: jasiri
Swedish: modig (sv)
Tagalog: matapang
Tajik: шуҷоъ (šujoʾ), далер (tg) (daler), диловар (dilovar), шуҷоатманд (šujoatmand)
Tamil: தைரியசாலி (ta) (tairiyacāli)
Telugu: ధైర్యమైన (te) (dhairyamaina)
Thai: กล้าหาญ (th) (glâa-hǎan), กล้า (th) (glâa)
Tibetan: བློ་ཁོག་ཆེན་པོ (blo khog chen po), དཔའ་བོ (dpa' bo)
Turkish: cesur (tr), mert (tr), korkusuz (tr), yürekli (tr), cesaretli (tr)
Turkmen: batyr (tk), mert
Tuvan: эккер-эрес (ekker-eres), кайгал (kaygal), дидим (didim)
Ukrainian: хоро́брий (xoróbryj), відва́жний (vidvážnyj), сміли́вий (uk) (smilývyj)
Urdu: بهادر (bahādur)
Uyghur: باتۇر (ug) (batur), قورقماس (qorqmas), جەسۇر (jesur), مەرد (merd)
Uzbek: jasur (uz), mard (uz), botir (uz), dovyurak (uz)
Vietnamese: dũng cảm (vi) (勇敢 (vi)), mạnh dạn (vi), mạnh bạo (vi), gan dạ (vi)
Volapük: kuradik (vo)
Walloon: coraedjeus (wa) m, bråve (wa) m, franc (wa) m
Welsh: dewr (cy), gwrdd, gwrol (cy), eofn (cy), glew (cy)
Yiddish: העלדיש (heldish), מוטיק (mutik)
Zulu: -nesibindi

(obsolete) having any sort of superiority or excellence

Russian: дивный (ru) (divnyj)

Noun edit

brave (plural braves)

(dated) A Native American warrior.
(obsolete) A man daring beyond discretion; a bully.
- 1674 (date written), John Dryden, The State of Innocence, and Fall of Man: An Opera. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1677, →OCLC, Act I, page 6:
  Hot Braves, like thee, may fight; but know not well / To manage this, the laſt great Stake of Hell.
(obsolete) A challenge; a defiance; bravado.
- c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
  Demetrius, thou dost overween in all; / And so in this, to bear me down with braves.

Translations edit

native American warrior

Finnish: intiaanisoturi
German: Krieger (de) m
Russian: инде́йский во́ин m (indéjskij vóin)

Etymology 2 edit

From Middle French braver, from brave.^[1]

Verb edit

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

(transitive) To encounter with courage and fortitude, to defy, to provoke.
- 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
  For Cassius is aweary of the world;
  Hated by one he loves; braved by his brother;
  Checked like a bondman; all his faults observed,
  Set in a notebook, learned, and conned by rote,
  To cast into my teeth.
- 1665 (first performance), John Dryden, The Indian Emperour, or, The Conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. […], London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman […], published 1667, →OCLC, (please specify the page):
  The ills of Love, not those of Fate, I fear,
  These I can brave, but those I cannot 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.
(transitive, obsolete) To adorn; to make fine or showy.
- c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii]:
  Face not me. Thou hast braved many men; brave
  not me. I will neither be faced nor braved.
  addressed to a tailor; first use in sense of "adorn", second and third uses in sense of "confront"

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

to encounter with courage

Cebuano: sungasong
Finnish: uhmata (fi), kohdata rohkeasti
German: trotzen (de)
Hindi: लोहा लेना (lohā lenā, literally “to take iron”)
Indonesian: menerjang (id)
Irish: tabhair dúshlán
Slovak: zdolať, zvládnuť

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