bru

See also: BRU, brú, and brù

English

Etymology

From Afrikaans broer. Doublet of brother, friar, and pal.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

bru (plural brus)

1. (South Africa) bro; bra; term of address for a man
   • 2006, Guy Brown, Hijack!: cracking one of South Africa's most violent carjacking syndicates, page 37:

     "Nice little bonus for you, hey bru," Paul was saying.

   • 2013, Nick Roddy, Out of Jericho, page 200:

     “Listen, bru, don't take this the wrong way, but I grew up with the black man. Never underestimate him and never overestimate him. […]

Interjection

bru

1. (slang) Alternative spelling of bruh

Anagrams

• RUB, bur, bur-, rub

Catalan

Etymology

From Frankish *brūn.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈbɾu]
• Rhymes: -u

Adjective

bru (feminine bruna, masculine plural bruns, feminine plural brunes)

1. dark brown

Derived terms

• os bru

Noun

bru m (plural bruns)

1. dark brown

Further reading

• “bru” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “bru”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “bru” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “bru” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From Middle French bru, from Old French bru, brui, bruz, from Late Latin bruta, brutis, from Old High German brūt (“daughter-in-law, bride”) or Gothic 𐌱𐍂𐌿𐌸𐍃 (bruþs, “daughter-in-law”); both from Proto-Germanic *brūdiz (“bride, daughter-in-law”). Akin to Old English brȳd (“bride”), English bride.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʁy/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

bru f (plural brus)

1. (regional) daughter-in-law

   Synonym: belle-fille

   Antonym: gendre

Usage notes

• The word is slightly dated in general European French, but current in many regions, including Canada.

Coordinate terms

• beau-fils
• beau-frère
• beau-père
• bel-enfant
• belle-mère
• belle-sœur

See also

• marâtre
• parâtre

Further reading

• “bru”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Noun

bru

1. Alternative form of browe

Norwegian Bokmål

Alternative forms

• bro

Etymology

From Norwegian Nynorsk bru, akin to the spoken form of the Oslo area; from Old West Norse brú. Went into use with the 1938 spelling reform during the Samnorsk policy. Doublet of bro, from Danish bro.

Noun

bru f or m (definite singular brua or bruen, indefinite plural bruer, definite plural bruene)

1. bridge

Derived terms

• bogebru
• brubygger
• bruhode
• brukar
• buebru
• flytebru
• fotgjengerbru
• gangbru
• hengebru
• hvelvbru
• jernbanebru
• kavlebru
• kjørebru
• kommandobru
• kuldebru
• kvelvbru
• landgangsbru
• luftbru
• låvebru
• pongtongbru
• svingbru
• vindebru
• vippebru

References

• “bru” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “bru” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old West Norse brú.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /brʉː/

Noun

bru f (definite singular brua, indefinite plural bruer, definite plural bruene)

1. bridge

   Dette er den lengste brua i verda.

   This is the longest bridge in the world.

Derived terms

• bogebru
• brubyggar
• brubygging
• brubyggjar
• bruhovud
• brukar
• brukjer
• flytebru
• fotgangarbru
• fotgjengarbru
• gangbru
• Gjeddarbru
• hengebru
• hengjebru
• jarnbanebru
• jernbanebru
• kavlebru
• kommandobru
• kvelvbru
• køyrebru
• landgangsbru
• luftbru
• låvebru
• svingbru
• vindebru
• vippebru

References

• “bru” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Anagrams

• bur

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *brūwō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃bʰrúHs (“brow”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bruː/

Noun

brū f

1. an eyelash
2. an eyebrow

Declension

Strong ō-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	brū	brūwa, brūwe
accusative	brūwe	brūwa, brūwe
genitive	brūwe	brūwa
dative	brūwe	brūwum

Derived terms

• oferbrū (“eyebrow”)

Descendants

• Middle English: browe, broȝ, brou, brow, bru, brouwe, brwe, bruwe
  • English: brow
  • Geordie English: broo
  • Scots: broo

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “bru”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old French

Alternative forms

• brut

Noun

bru oblique singular, f (oblique plural brus, nominative singular bru, nominative plural brus)

1. daughter-in-law

Descendants

• French: bru

References

• Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle (1881) (bru, supplement)

Pnar

Etymology

From Proto-Khasian *bruː. Cognate with Khasi briew. Compare Proto-Khmuic *-brɔʔ (“person, man”) (whence Khmu [Cuang] cmbrɔʔ), Proto-Katuic *ɓruu (“mountain”) (whence the autonym Bru), Proto-Vietic *b-ruːʔ (whence Vietnamese rú), Santali ᱵᱩᱨᱩ (buru).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bru/

Noun

bru

1. person

   u bru ― man

   uni u bru ― this man

   ka bru ― woman

   kani ka bru ― this woman

Polish

Alternative forms

• beru

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbru/
• Rhymes: -u
• Syllabification: bru

Noun

bru m inan

1. genitive singular of ber

Puyuma

Noun

bru

1. (in females' ritual language) water

Synonyms

• ənay (general term)
• nanum (ritual term used by males)

References

• Blust's Austronesian Comparative Dictionary