Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “brawny” come from?

Brawny comes from Middle English brawn with the suffix -y, from Middle French braon with -ie, from Latin brāvum with -ia, ultimately traced through Latin -īvus and -ia formations to Proto-Indo-European -kos.

brawny (English): Characterized by brawn; muscular, thewy; strong;...

Definitions

  1. Characterized by brawn; muscular, thewy; strong;...

Ancestry of “brawny”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle English-yDesignates an adjective, in many cases formed by...
2Middle English-ien—
3Old English-ianForms verbs from nouns and adjectives
4Old English-ōjan—
5Proto-West Germanic-ōnCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
6Proto-Germanic-ōnąCreates denominative verbs from nouns; Creates...
7Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
8Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
9Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-—
10Chichewaiyehe, she

Words derived from “brawny”

  • brawniness
  • brawnily
Every word from Chichewa iye →