English
brute
Brute comes from Latin brūtus ‘dull, stupid, insensible’, and goes back to Proto-Italic *gʷrūtos.
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷrūtosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbrūtus‘dull, stupid, insensible’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400brut
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1667brute
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*gʷrūtosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEbrūtus‘dull, stupid, insensible’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400brut
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600same form
- Englishearliest quotation 1667brute
Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book VII: “A creature […] not prone / And brute as…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷreh₂- ‘heavy’
bar, guru, brigadier, aggravation, gravitate, brio, brigand, 18 more
through Proto-Indo-European *gʷréh₂us ‘heavy’
grave, gravity, grief, grieve, grievous, grievance, gravitation, aggravate, gravitas, baryon, barite, 16 more
through Latin brūtus ‘dull, stupid, insensible’
Today it means
adj Without reason or intelligence (of animals).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Italic *gʷrūtos / brute