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brandish - 5 dictionary results

bran⋅dish

  [bran-dish]
Use brandish in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to shake or wave, as a weapon; flourish: Brandishing his sword, he rode into battle.
–noun
2. a flourish or waving, as of a weapon.
Origin:
1275–1325; ME bra(u)ndisshen < AF, MF brandiss- (long s. of brandir, deriv. of brand sword < Gmc). See brand, -ish 2

Related forms:
bran⋅dish⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. swing, flaunt, wield, display.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bran·dish   (brān'dĭsh)   
tr.v.   bran·dished, bran·dish·ing, bran·dish·es
  1. To wave or flourish (a weapon, for example) menacingly.
  2. To display ostentatiously. See Synonyms at flourish.
n.  A menacing or defiant wave or flourish.

[Middle English brandissen, from Old French brandir, brandiss-, from brand, sword, of Germanic origin; see gwher- in Indo-European roots.]
bran'dish·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Brandish

Bran"dish\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brandished; p. pr. & vb. n. Brandishing.] [OE. braundisen, F. brandir, fr. brand a sword, fr. OHG. brant brand. See Brand, n.]

1. To move or wave, as a weapon; to raise and move in various directions; to shake or flourish.

The quivering lance which he brandished bright. --Drake.

2. To play with; to flourish; as, to brandish syllogisms.

Brandish

Bran"dish\, n. A flourish, as with a weapon, whip, etc. "Brandishes of the fan." --Tailer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : brandish
Spanish: blandir,
German: schwingen,
Japanese: 振り回す
More Translations »

brandish 
c.1340, from O.Fr. brandiss-, stem of brandir "to flourish a sword," of Frank. origin (see brand).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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