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brat

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brat

[brat]
–noun
a child, esp. an annoying, spoiled, or impolite child (usually used in contempt or irritation).

Origin:
1495–1505; perh. transferred use of brat rag, OE bratt cloak < Celt; cf. Ir brat mantle, cloak


brattish, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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brat 1   (brāt)   
n.  
  1. A child, especially a spoiled or ill-mannered one.

  2. A child of a career military person.


[Possibly from brat, coarse garment, from Middle English, from Old English bratt, of Celtic origin.]
brat'tish adj., brat'tish·ness n.
brat 2   (brāt)   
n.  Bratwurst.
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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Word Origin & History

brat 
c.1505, slang, "beggar's child," originally northern, midlands and western England dialect "makeshift or ragged garment," probably the same word as O.E. bratt "cloak," from a Celtic source (cf. O.Ir. bratt "cloak, cloth"). The modern meaning is perhaps from notion of "child's apron." Bratty is first recorded 1961.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
brat
bratwurst
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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