Where does “bravo” come from?
bravo (Old Spanish) comes from Vulgar Latin bravus, from Latin barbarus, from Ancient Greek βάρβαρος, from Proto-Indo-European balb-.
Ancestry of “bravo”, step by step
bravo traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Vulgar Latin bravus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vulgar Latin | bravus | — |
| 2 | Latin | barbarus | foreign; savage; uncivilized |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | βάρβαρος | non-Greek-speaking, foreign; barbaric, brutal,... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | balb- | — |
via Latin brabus
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | brabus | — |