bravo

See also: bravó, bravò, and Bravo

Noun

bravo

Alternative letter-case form of Bravo of the ICAO/NATO radiotelephony alphabet.

English Wikipedia has an article on:

bravo

Wikipedia

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian bravo. Doublet of brave.

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɑvoʊ/, /bɹɑˈvoʊ/
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɑːvəʊ/, /bɹɑːˈvəʊ/
Rhymes: -ɑːvəʊ, Rhymes: -əʊ
Audio (Canada): (file)

Noun

bravo (plural bravos or bravoes or bravi)

A hired soldier; an assassin; a desperado.
- 1753, Theophilus Cibber, The Lives of the Poets of Great Britain and Ireland (1753)‎:
  As for Rochester, he had not genius enough to enter the lists with Dryden, so he fell upon another method of revenge; and meanly hired bravoes to assault him.
- 1911, H. Rider Haggard, Red Eve‎:
  "Why should I fight the King of England's bravoes?" inquired Acour in a languid voice of those who stood about him, a question at which they laughed.
- 1953, Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, Penguin, published 2010, page 104:
  Because the headache will always be there, a weapon that never wears out and is as deadly as the bravo’s rapier or Lucrezia's poison vial.
A shout of "bravo!"
- 1907, Kate Dickinson Sweetser, Boys and girls from Thackeray‎:
  There was a roar of bravoes rang through the house; Pen bellowing with the loudest.
(international standards, plural "bravos") Alternative letter-case form of Bravo from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.

Synonyms

(hired soldier): see Thesaurus:mercenary

Interjection

bravo!

Used to express acclaim, especially to a performer.
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:well done

Bravo, you have done a brilliant job!

Usage notes

Sometimes the (non-anglicized) Italian feminine form brava is used for a woman or girl, and the Italian plural forms brave f pl are used for female referents only, and bravi m pl are used for male only or two or more male and female referents.

Related terms

Translations

interjection

Arabic: بْرَافُو (brāvo), بِرَافُو (birāvo)
Egyptian Arabic: براڤو (brāvo, barāvu), عفارم (ʕafārem) (archaic)
Armenian: բրավո (hy) (bravo), կեցցե (hy) (kecʻcʻe)
Assamese: বাঃ (bah), চাবাচ (sabas)
Bengali: শাবাশ (bn) (śabaś)
Danish: bravo
Esperanto: brave (eo)
Finnish: hyvä (fi)
French: bravo (fr)
Georgian: ყოჩაღ (ka) (q̇očaɣ)
Greek: μπράβο (el) (brávo)
Ancient: πύππαξ (púppax)
Hindi: शाबाश (hi) (śābāś)
Italian: bravo (it) m, bene (it), ben fatto!
Japanese: 天晴れ (ja) (appare), ブラボー (ja) (burabō)
Latin: mactē
Latvian: bravo
Malay: mantap (ms)
Marathi: शाबास (śābās), शाब्बास (śābbās)
Persian: براوو (fa) (brâvo)
Polish: brawo (pl)
Portuguese: bravo (pt)
Romanian: bravo (ro)
Russian: бра́во (ru) (brávo)
Sanskrit: साधु (sa) (sādhu)
Spanish: bravo (es)
Swedish: bravo (sv)
Vietnamese: hoan hô (vi)
Yiddish: בראַוואָ (bravo)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Central Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} ئافەرین (aferîn), ^{(please verify)} ئافەریم (aferîm)

Verb

bravo (third-person singular simple present bravos or bravoes, present participle bravoing, simple past and past participle bravoed)

To cheer or applaud, especially by saying bravo!
- 1910, May Agnes Fleming, The Baronet's Bride‎:
  "And my Sunbeam was bravoed, and encored, and crowned with flowers, was she not?"
- 1899, Richard Le Gallienne, Young Lives‎:
  Together they had bravoed the great tragedians, and together hopelessly worshipped the beautiful faces, enskied and sainted, of famous actresses.

Adjective

bravo

neuter of bravu

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian bravo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbrɑʋo(ː)/, [ˈbrɑ̝ʋo̞(ː)]
IPA^(key): /ˈbrɑˈʋo(ː)/, [ˈbrɑ̝ˈʋo̞(ː)]
IPA^(key): /ˈbrɑːʋo/, [ˈbrɑ̝ːʋo̞]
Rhymes: -ɑʋo
Hyphenation^(key): bra‧vo

Interjection

bravo

bravo

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian bravo. Doublet of brave.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bʁa.vo/
Audio: (file)

Interjection

bravo

bravo!, hear, hear!, well said!, well done!

Noun

bravo m (plural bravos)

(in the plural) applause, cheers
swordsman
Synonym: spadassin

Related terms

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbɾabo/ [ˈbɾa.β̞ʊ]
Rhymes: -abo
Hyphenation: bra‧vo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese bravo, from Latin barbarus,^[1] which was frequently found in Galician medieval Latin documentation with the meaning of "uncultivated, fallow".^[2] Alternatively from Vulgar Latin *bravus or *brabus, from a fusion of Latin prāvus and barbarus.

Adjective

bravo (feminine brava, masculine plural bravos, feminine plural bravas)

uncultivated, harsh, rough (when referring to a land)
- 1334, M. Lucas Alvarez & P. P. Lucas Domínguez (eds. ), San Pedro de Ramirás. Un monasterio femenino en la Edad Media. Santiago: Caixa Galicia, page 487:
  et nos dedes delle en cada ano terça do pan e do viño, e de lino e de liguma do feytuo, e do monte bravo que aromperdes
  and you'll give us each year a third of the grain and of the wine, of the flax, and of the pulses, and of the uncultivated lands that you could plough up
wild, spontaneous (when referring to a plant)
Synonym: ventureiro
wild, untamed (when referring to an animal)
Synonym: salvaxe
harsh, fierce
- 1364, Clara Rodríguez Núñez (ed.), "Santa María de Belvís, un convento mendicante femenino en la Baja Edad Media (1305-1400)", Estudios Mindonienses, 5, page 441:
  son ende quatro boys, dous bravos et dous massos
  there are four oxen: two are fierce and two are meek
Synonym: fero
strong (when referring to a beverage) or hot spicy
Synonym: forte
bold, valiant
Synonyms: afouto, arriscado, valente

Derived terms

besta brava (“wild horse”)
Bravos
faneca brava (“lesser weever”)
porco bravo (“wild pig”)

Related terms

bravádego (“copse”)
braveiro (“sprout”)
braveza (“braveness”)
bravío (“wild”)
bravún (“the odor of a wild animal”)
bravura (“braveness”)
embravecer (“to infuriate”)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian bravo.

Interjection

bravo!

bravo!

References

Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “bravo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “bravo”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “bravo”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “bravo”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

[1]
Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “bravo”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos
[2]
barbaras in Gallaeciae Monumenta Historica.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian bravo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbra.vo/, [ˈbra.fo]
Rhymes: -vo
Hyphenation: bra‧vo

Interjection

bravo

bravo, well done!, good show!
Synonym: syabas

Etymology

Uncertain. Probably from Vulgar Latin *bravus, from a fusion of Latin prāvus and barbarus.^[1] Less likely from Provençal brau (“show-off”), from Gaulish *bragos (compare Middle Irish breagha (modern breá) 'fine', Breton braga 'to strut').^[2] Or perhaps borrowed from a descendant of Proto-Germanic *hrawaz (“raw, uncooked”). Or possibly from a root *bravus, from bravium. Borrowed into French and English as brave.

Pierre Carpentier, in an 18th-century edition of du Cange's 17th-century dictionary of medieval and modern Latin, argued Latin branus originated in a misreading of Italian and Spanish bravo.^[3] However, George Nicholson argues the opposite in a 1950 Festschrift article, namely bravo being a misreading of Latin branus, which would have the origin du Cange had originally argued for, from Old French brahaigne (“barren”) (see barren).^[2] Compare English gravy, possibly a misreading of French grané (“stew”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbra.vo/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -avo
Hyphenation: brà‧vo

Adjective

bravo (feminine brava, masculine plural bravi, feminine plural brave, superlative bravissimo)

(prepositional) good, well-behaved
good, skilful, capable, clever, fine
good, obedient
(obsolete) brave, bold
(obsolete) wild, untamed (of animals)
(obsolete) harsh (of places)

Related terms

Noun

bravo m (plural bravi)

henchman

Interjection

bravo m (feminine brava, masculine plural bravi, feminine plural brave)

well done!, good show!
(theater) bravo!

Descendants

→ English: bravo
→ French: bravo
→ Romanian: bravo
→ Turkish: bravo

References

[1]
Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “bravo”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos
[2]
http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/brave-etymology-word-origin/
[3]
http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/BRANA

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾa.vu/
- (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾa.vo/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾa.vu/
- (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈbɾa.bu/ [ˈbɾa.βu]

Rhymes: -avu, (Northern Portugal) -abu
Hyphenation: bra‧vo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese bravo, possibly from Vulgar Latin *bravus or *brabus, from a fusion of Latin prāvus and barbarus.

Alternative forms

brabo (regionalism)

Adjective

bravo (feminine brava, masculine plural bravos, feminine plural bravas, comparable, comparative mais bravo, superlative o mais bravo or bravíssimo, diminutive bravinho, augmentative bravão)

angry; furious, annoyed
Synonyms: furioso, irado, raivoso, enraivecido

Fico bravo quando você entra sem bater.
I get angry when you enter without knocking first.
brave; valiant, courageous
Synonyms: valente, destemido, corajoso
coarse; uneducated, uncivilized
Synonyms: bárbaro, rude, grosseiro
prone to irritation, easily angered, bad-tempered, choleric
Synonyms: genioso, irritadiço
rigorous, authoritarian
Synonyms: rígido, rigoroso, severo
difficult, unmanageable (of a person or situation)
Synonyms: ruço, difícil
undomesticated (of an animal)
Synonyms: bravio, silvestre
spontaneous, weed (of a plant or vegetable)
Synonym: espontâneo
uncultivated (of the land)
Synonyms: bravio, inculto
stormy (of the sea)
Synonym: tempestuoso
(Brazil, slang) a term akin to English dope, hard; meaning cool or good, usually with an aggressive connotation

Derived terms

bravamente
braveza
bravio
bravura
coelho-bravo
embravecer
mandioca-brava

Noun

bravo m (plural bravos)

(Brazil) a certain part of an oxcart
(North Brazil) a neophyte to rubber tapping, a novice seringueiro

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian bravo.

Interjection

bravo!

bravo! well done!
Bravo! Você acertou!
Bravo! You got it right!

Etymology

Borrowed from French bravo or Italian bravo.

Interjection

bravo

bravo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbɾabo/ [ˈbɾa.β̞o]
Rhymes: -abo
Syllabification: bra‧vo

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Spanish bravo, possibly from Vulgar Latin *bravus or *brabus, from a fusion of Latin prāvus and barbarus (or from metathesis of an intermediate form *babru-).^[1]

Adjective

bravo (feminine brava, masculine plural bravos, feminine plural bravas, superlative bravísimo)

angry, furious
Synonyms: enojado, enfadado, fiero, mañoso
bold, courageous
Synonym: valiente
skilful, capable, clever, fine
good, excellent
agitated (sea)
wild (animal)
Synonym: salvaje

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

→ Belizean Creole: braabo, braabu

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Italian bravo.

Interjection

¡bravo!

(in general use) well done!, good show!
(at the theatre, etc) bravo!

References

[1]
Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “bravo”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

Etymology

Internationalism, from Italian bravo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbrɑːvʊ/
Rhymes: -¹ɑːvʊ

Interjection

bravo

bravo

Derived terms

bravorop

Related terms

bravur

References

Etymology

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish براوو, from Italian bravo.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /b(ɯ)ɾɑ.vo/

Interjection

bravo!

well done!, good show!
(theater) bravo!

[1] [1]
Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “bravo”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

[2] [2]
barbaras in Gallaeciae Monumenta Historica.

[3] [1]
Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “bravo”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

[OUP-4] [2]
http://blog.oup.com/2013/11/brave-etymology-word-origin/

[5] [3]
http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/BRANA

[6] [1]
Joan Coromines, José A[ntonio] Pascual (1983–1991) “bravo”, in Diccionario crítico etimológico castellano e hispánico [Critic Castilian and Hispanic Etymological Dictionary] (in Spanish), Madrid: Gredos

[1]

[2]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[1]

Noun

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Synonyms

Interjection

Usage notes

Related terms

Translations

Verb

Adjective

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Further reading

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Noun

Related terms

Further reading

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Adjective

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Interjection

References

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Further reading

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Related terms

Noun

Interjection

Descendants

References

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Adjective

Derived terms

Noun

Etymology 2

Interjection

Etymology

Interjection

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Adjective

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

Etymology 2

Interjection

Further reading

References

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

Derived terms

Related terms

References

Etymology

Pronunciation

Interjection

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