brave

English Online Dictionary. What means brave‎? What does brave mean?

English

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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

Adjective

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

1. Strong in the face of fear; courageous.

   Synonyms: bold, daring, doughty, orped, resilient, stalwart

   Antonyms: cowardly, fearful, mean, weak
2. (obsolete) Having any sort of superiority or excellence.
   • 18 February 1666, Samuel Pepys, diary entry:

     It being a brave day, I walked to Whitehall.

3. Making a fine show or display.
4. (UK, euphemistic) Foolish or unwise.

   Synonym: courageous

Synonyms

• (courageous): See also Thesaurus:brave

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

brave (plural braves)

1. (dated) A Native American warrior.
2. (obsolete) A man daring beyond discretion; a bully.
3. (obsolete) A challenge; a defiance; bravado.

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle French braver, from brave.

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, to provoke.
   • 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.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

Anagrams

• Baver

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbravɛ]

Noun

brave

1. vocative of brav

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. Compare Spanish, Portuguese bravo. Doublet of bravo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʁav/

Adjective

brave (plural braves)

1. brave
2. honest

Synonyms

• courageux
• bon
• honnête
• preux

Noun

brave m (plural braves)

1. hero

Related terms

Further reading

• “brave”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• baver

German

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aːvə

Adjective

brave

1. inflection of brav:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Adjective

brave f pl

1. feminine plural of bravo

Anagrams

• breva

Norman

Etymology

From Late Latin *bravus.

Adjective

brave m or f

1. brave

Derived terms

• bravement (“bravely”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

brave

1. definite singular/plural of brav

Pali

Alternative forms

Verb

brave

1. first-person singular present/imperative middle of brūti (“to say”)