Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “brutish” come from?

Brutish comes from English brute, from French bruit meaning noise or rumor, from Latin brutus meaning dumb or irrational, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us related to roaring sounds.

brutish (English): Of, or in the manner of a brute; Bestial; lacking...

Definitions

  1. Of, or in the manner of a brute; Bestial; lacking...

Ancestry of “brutish”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1English-ishTypical of, similar to, being like; Somewhat,...
2Middle English-ishAlternative form of -yssh
3Old English-isċ-ish
4Proto-West Germanic-iskCreates adjectives from nouns
5Proto-Germanic-iskazForms adjectives from nouns with the sense of...
6Proto-Indo-European-iskosCharacteristic of, typical of, pertaining to

Words derived from “brutish”

  • brutishness
  • brutishly
  • unbrutish
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -iskos →