bruise
/bɹuz/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.18 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To strike (a person), originally with something flat or heavy, but now specifically in such a way as to discolour the skin without breaking it; to contuse.
Transitive verb
noun
A purplish mark on the skin due to leakage of blood from capillaries under the surface that have been damaged by a blow.
Example Sentences
Etymology
From Middle English bruisen, brusen, brosen, brisen, bresen, from a merger two words, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to break”): * Old English brȳsan, brīesan (“to bruise; crush”), from Proto-Germanic *brausijaną, *brūsijaną (“to break; crumble; crack”). Provided the word's sense. * Anglo-Norman bruiser, bruser (“to break, smash, shatter”), from Gaulish *brus-, from Proto-Celtic *bruseti (“to break”). Provided the word's form. Cognate with Scots brizz, German brausen (“to roar; boom; pound”), Old English brosnian (“to crumble, fall apart”), Dutch broos (“brittle”), German Brosame (“crumb”), dialectal Norwegian brøysk (“breakable”), Latin frustum (“bit, scrap”), Old Church Slavonic бръснути (brŭsnuti, “to rake”), Albanian breshër (“hail”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /bɹuz/
- British English: /bɹuːz/