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Added 9 October 2026

brawn

/bɹɔːn/ noun

In Latin: torus Wiktionary

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about brawn at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Strong muscles or lean flesh, especially of the arm, leg or thumb.
Physical strength; muscularity.
The builders at the site had more brawn than brain.
Head cheese; a terrine made from the head of a pig or calf; originally boar's meat.

verb

Make fat, especially of a boar.
Become fat, especially of a boar.

Origin

From Middle English brawne, from Old French braon (“slice of meat, fleshy part, buttock”), from Frankish *brādon, *brādan, oblique forms of *brādō (“roasted meat, ham”), from Proto-Germanic *brēdô (“meat, roast”), of uncertain further origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“to burn, heat”). Akin to Old High German brāto (“tender meat”) (German Braten (“roast”)), Old English brǣde, brǣd (“flesh, meat”), Old Norse bráð (“raw meat”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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