brawn

[brawn]

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noun

strong, well-developed muscles.
muscular strength.
Chiefly British.
1. a boar's or swine's flesh, especially when boiled and pickled.
2. headcheese.

Origin of brawn

1275–1325; Middle English brawne < Old French braon slice of flesh (Provençal bradon) < Germanic; compare German Braten joint of meat, akin to Old English brǣd flesh

Synonyms for brawn

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2. brawniness, robustness, muscle, sturdiness, might, power.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for brawn

vigor, moxie, meat, power, flesh, beef, energy, punch, clout, steam, sock, muscle, might, muscularity, kick, robustness, thew

Examples from the Web for brawn

Contemporary Examples of brawn

As governor of California, Schwarzenegger himself demonstrated the limits of American brawn.
Is This the End of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Comeback?
Andrew Romano
March 30, 2014
This is the place where automakers show off brawn, power, and sex appeal.
Detroit’s Green Leap Forward Pulls In to New York Auto Show
Daniel Gross
March 29, 2013

Historical Examples of brawn

And now, fair sir, I must hasten back to see how my rogues have fared with the brawn.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Most of them are slaves specially chosen for their brawn, and I cannot spare any.
The Sea-Hawk
Raphael Sabatini
Combine your brawn with my brains, now, and do as I say—if you will I promise you freedom.
Vulcan's Workshop
Harl Vincent
With all his brain and brawn, his real greatness was in his heart.
The Story of Young Abraham Lincoln
Wayne Whipple
In this he pleased Mr. Cinch, who was by no means all a man of beef and brawn.
Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York
Lemuel Ely Quigg

British Dictionary definitions for brawn

brawn

noun

strong well-developed muscles
physical strength, esp as opposed to intelligence
British a seasoned jellied loaf made from the head and sometimes the feet of a pig or calf

Word Origin for brawn

C14: from Old French braon slice of meat, of Germanic origin; compare Old High German brāto, Old English brǣd flesh

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for brawn

late 13c., from Old French braon "fleshy or muscular part, buttock," from Frankish *brado "ham, roast" or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *bred-on- (cf. Old High German brato "tender meat," German Braten "roast," Old Norse brað "raw meat," Old English bræd "flesh"), from PIE *bhre- "burn, heat," from root *bhreue- "to boil, bubble, effervesce, burn" (see brew (v.)). The original sense is "piece of meat suitable for roasting." "The specific sense 'boar's flesh' is exclusively of English development, and characteristic of English habits" [OED].