Standard Lemma guide

brawn

name · noun · verb · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /bɹɔːn/
  • US: /bɹɔn/
  • cot-caught-merger: /bɹɑn/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɔːn
  • CMU ARPABET: B R AO1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Strong muscles or lean flesh, especially of the arm, leg or thumb.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Physical strength; muscularity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • The builders at the site had more brawn than brain.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Head cheese; a terrine made from the head of a pig or calf; originally boar's meat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A boar.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, countable, dialectal, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

Make fat, especially of a boar.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

Become fat, especially of a boar.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

possessing muscular strength

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: brawniness, muscle, muscularity, sinew, heftiness

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: strength

History

Etymology

* As an English surname, probably a variant of Brand. * As a German surname, possibly altered from Braun.

From Middle English brawne, from Old French braon (“slice of meat, fleshy part, buttock”), from Frankish *brādon, *brādan, accusative form of *brādō (“roasted meat, ham”), from Proto-Germanic *brēdô (“meat, roast”), of uncertain further origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bhreh1- (“to burn, heat”). Akin to Old High German brāto (“tender meat”) (German Braten (“roast”)), Old English brǣde, brǣd (“flesh, meat”), Old Norse bráð (“raw meat”).

Across languages

Translations

77 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Armenian: մկաններ (mkanner) — strong muscles
  • Armenian: մկանունք (mkanunkʻ) — strong muscles
  • Armenian: դնդերք (dnderkʻ) — strong muscles
  • Bulgarian: мускули (muskuli) — strong muscles
  • Bulgarian: физическа сила (fizičeska sila) — strong muscles
  • Czech: svaly — strong muscles
  • Dutch: spierkracht — strong muscles
  • Dutch: spieren — strong muscles
  • Finnish: lihakset — strong muscles
  • Finnish: lihasmassa — strong muscles
  • French: muscle — strong muscles
  • German: Muskelkraft — strong muscles
  • Greek: ποντίκι (pontíki) — strong muscles
  • Latin: torus — strong muscles
  • Middle English: brawne — strong muscles
  • Old English: līra — strong muscles
  • Polish: silne mięśnie — strong muscles
  • Romanian: mușchi — strong muscles
  • Russian: мускулы (muskuly) — strong muscles
  • Russian: мышцы (myšcy) — strong muscles
  • Serbo-Croatian: mišićavost — strong muscles
  • Serbo-Croatian: muskuloznost — strong muscles
  • Armenian: ֆիզիկական ուժ (fizikakan už) — physical strength, muscularity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 膂力 (lǚlì) — physical strength, muscularity
  • Czech: fyzická síla — physical strength, muscularity
  • Czech: svaly — physical strength, muscularity
  • Finnish: voima — physical strength, muscularity
  • Finnish: lihasvoima — physical strength, muscularity
  • Finnish: massa — physical strength, muscularity
  • French: muscle — physical strength, muscularity
  • Greek: δύναμη (dýnami) — physical strength, muscularity
  • Malayalam: കരുത്ത് (karuttŭ) — physical strength, muscularity
  • Māori: pakaua — physical strength, muscularity
  • Polish: muskularość — physical strength, muscularity
  • Polish: krzepa — physical strength, muscularity
  • Polish: tężyzna — physical strength, muscularity
  • Russian: мускулистость (muskulistostʹ) — physical strength, muscularity
  • Serbo-Croatian: gruba snaga — physical strength, muscularity
  • Swedish: muskelstyrka — physical strength, muscularity
  • Swedish: muskelkraft — physical strength, muscularity
  • Bulgarian: пача (pača) — terrine
  • Czech: tlačenka — terrine
  • Czech: sulc — terrine
  • Czech: huspenina — terrine
  • Dutch: zult — terrine
  • Dutch: hoofdkaas — terrine
  • Estonian: sült — terrine
  • Finnish: syltty — terrine
  • French: fromage de tête — terrine
  • French: tête pressée — terrine
  • French: tête marbrée — terrine
  • French: tête fromagée — terrine
  • French: hure — terrine
  • Galician: cacheira prensada — terrine
  • German: Sülze — terrine
  • Greek: πηχτή (pichtí) — terrine
  • Hungarian: disznósajt — terrine
  • Hungarian: disznófősajt — terrine
  • Irish: toirceoil — terrine
  • Macedonian: шваргла (švargla) — terrine
  • Norwegian: sylte — terrine
  • Polish: salceson — terrine
  • Serbo-Croatian: tlačenica — terrine
  • Slovene: tlȃčenka — terrine
  • Spanish: queso de cabeza — terrine
  • Spanish: cabeza de jabalí — terrine
  • Swedish: sylta — terrine
  • Welsh: caws pen mochyn — terrine
  • Bulgarian: угоявам (ugojavam) — to make fat
  • Finnish: lihottaa — to make fat
  • Polish: tuczyć — to make fat
  • Polish: utuczyć — to make fat
  • Serbo-Croatian: ugojiti se — to make fat
  • Finnish: lihoa — to become fat
  • Polish: tuczyć się — to become fat
  • Polish: utuczyć się — to become fat
  • Serbo-Croatian: ugojiti se — to become fat