Where does “brave” come from?

brave (Middle French) comes from Italian bravo, from Vulgar Latin bravus, from Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος, from Proto-Indo-European balb-.

Ancestry of “brave”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Italianbravogood, well-behaved; good, skilful, capable,...
2Vulgar Latinbravus—
3Latinbarbarusforeign; savage; uncivilized
4Ancient Greekβάρβαροςnon-Greek-speaking, foreign; barbaric, brutal,...
5Proto-Indo-Europeanbalb-—

Words derived from “brave”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European balb- →Every word from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος →Every word from Latin barbarus →