Kilo Lingo

/bʁav/

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Translation

decent, good-hearted (before the noun); brave (after the noun)

Word origin

Borrowed in the sixteenth century from Italian bravo, but the older history is genuinely disputed and the two main accounts are set out below. English 'brave' and 'bravado' come through the same Italian and French route.

Origin
Italian
Root
bravo
English cognates
brave, bravado, bravo

Other proposed origins

  • Most often traced to Latin barbarus ('foreign, wild'), with the sense moving from 'savage' to 'bold'. (barbarus)
  • Others derive it from Latin pravus ('crooked, bad'), by way of a Vulgar Latin sense 'unruly'. (pravus)

Grammar

Masc pluralbraves

Examples

C' , .

He is a decent man, he helps everyone in the neighbourhood.

.

A brave man does not back away from danger.

, guichet.

My good lady, you have come to the wrong counter.

.

The brave soldiers received a medal.

dentiste.

She was very brave at the dentist's.

Where this fits

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French · Free printables

brave: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the French word "brave" (decent, good-hearted (before the noun); brave (after the noun)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 38.