Where does “brutal” come from?

Brutal comes from Medieval Latin brutalis, derived from Latin brutus, which traces to Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us, an adjective suffix from Proto-Indo-European -us.

brutal (English): Savagely violent, vicious, ruthless, or cruel;...

Definitions

  1. Savagely violent, vicious, ruthless, or cruel;...

Ancestry of “brutal”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchbrutalsavage
2Medieval Latinbrutalissavage, stupid
3Latinbrūtus—
4Proto-Indo-Europeangʷréh₂usheavy
5Proto-Indo-European-usForms adjectives from Caland system roots

Words derived from “brutal”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -us →