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Origin and history of brag

brag(v.)

late 14c., braggen "to make a loud sound," also "to talk boastfully," of obscure origin, perhaps related to bray of a trumpet and imitative, or related to the Middle English adjective brag "ostentatious, proud; spirited, brave" (early 14c.), which probably is from Celtic, and is the source of the surname Bragg (attested from mid-13c.). Perhaps a merger of the two. Other sources suggest Old Norse bragr "the best, the toast (of anything)," also "poetry." Also see braggart for another possibility, but French brague seems too late to be the source. Related: Bragged; bragging.

brag(n.)

late 14c., "pomp; arrogance, pride;" see brag (v.); the exact relationship of the noun and verb is uncertain. The meaning "that which is boasted" is from 1530s. As a once-popular poker-like card game, from 1734.

also from late 14c.

Entries linking to brag

braggart(n.)

"a boaster," 1570s, formerly also braggard, from French bragard (16c.), with pejorative ending (see -ard) + braguer "to flaunt, brag," perhaps originally "to show off clothes, especially breeches," from brague "breeches" (see bracket (n.)). There may be an element of codpiece-flaunting in all this.

Also as an adjective, "vain, boastful" (1610s). The word in English has been at least influenced by brag (v.), even if, as some claim, it is unrelated to it. Bragger "arrogant or boastful person," agent noun from brag (v.), is attested in English from late 14c. and has become practically a variant of this word.

braggadocio(n.)

1590, coined by Spenser as the name of his personification of vainglory ("Faerie Queene," ii.3), from brag, with augmentative ending from Italian words then in vogue in English. In general use by 1594 for "an empty swaggerer;" of the talk of such persons, from 1734.

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    boast
    mid-13c., "arrogance, presumption, pride, vanity;" c. 1300, "a brag, boastful speech," from Anglo-French bost "ostentation," probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian baus "proud, bold, daring"), from Proto-Germanic *bausia "to blow up, puff up, swell" (source also o
    tout
    1700, thieves' cant, "to act as a lookout, spy on," from Middle English tuten "to peep, peer," probably from a variant of Old English totian "to stick out, peep, peer," from Proto-Germanic *tut- "project" (source also of Dutch tuit "sprout, snout," Middle Dutch tute "nipple, pap,
    swash
    1530s, expressing a blow or the fall of a heavy body, probably imitative. It also meant "pig-wash, filth, wet refuse" (1520s) and may have been imitative of the sound of water dashing against solid objects or a heavy blow on a yielding surface. The meaning "a body of splashing wa
    rodomontade
    As a verb, "boast, brag, talk big," by 1680s. Related: Rodomont "braggart" (1590s); Rodomontador....
    marcescent
    morokva "quagmire, swamp," Middle High German meren "dip bread into water or wine," perhaps also Middle Irish mraich, Welsh brag...
    gab
    Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse gabba "to mock, make fun of," and probably in part from Old French gaber "to mock, jest; brag...
    bluff
    confident air on a worthless hand to make them 'fold,'" an American English poker term, perhaps from Dutch bluffen "to brag...
    amplify
    early 15c., "to enlarge, expand, increase," from Old French amplifier (15c.), from Latin amplificare "to enlarge," from amplus "large" (see ample) + combining form of facere "to make, do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put"). The meaning "augment in volume or amount" is from 1570s
    exaggerate
    1530s, "to pile up, accumulate," from Latin exaggeratus, past participle of exaggerare "heighten, amplify, magnify," literally "to heap, pile, load, fill," from ex, here probably "thoroughly" (see ex-), + aggerare "heap up, accumulate," figuratively "amplify, magnify," from agger
    crow
    general common name of birds of the genus Corvus (the larger sort being sometimes called ravens), Old English crawe, which is held to be imitative of the bird's cry. Compare Old Saxon kraia, Dutch kraai, Old High German chraja, German Kräke. Also other imitative bird-names such a

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