Brawn
Pronunciation
- Rhymes: -É”Ën
Origin
Middle English brawne, from Old French braon ("slice of meat, fleshy part, buttock"), from Frankish *brÄdon, accusative form of *brÄdo ("roasted meat, ham"), from Proto-Germanic *brÄ“dô ("meat, roast"), from Proto-Indo-European *bhre- ("to burn, heat"), from Proto-Indo-European *bureue- ("to boil, bubble, burn"). Akin to Old High German brÄto ("tender meat") (German Braten ("roast")), Old English brÇ£d ("flesh, meat"), Old Norse bráð ("raw meat").
Full definition of brawn
Noun
brawn
(uncountable)- Strong muscles or lean flesh, especially of the arm, leg or thumb.
- Physical strength; muscularity.
- 2000, Stephanie Laurens, A Secret Love, Avon Books (2000), ISBN 0380805707, page 349:The man was a bruiser, the sort who'd learned his science in tavern brawls. Given his size and lack of agility, he relied on his brawn to win. In any wrestling match, Crowley would triumph easily.
- 2008, Michael Mandaville, Stealing Thunder, Dog Ear Publishing (2008), ISBN 9781598585353, page 562:The two men were husky, picked for their brawn by the little man who sauntered into the room.
- 2010, Martin Pasko & Robert Greenberger, The Essential Superman Encyclopedia, Del Ray (2010), ISBN 9780345501080, page 218:The youth agreed to the scheme and used his brawn to begin moving pieces into place, starting by moving the planet Rann into the Thanagarian star system ...
- (chiefly British) head cheese; a terrine made from the head of a pig or calf; originally boar's meat.