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brute - 7 dictionary results

brute

1  [broot]
Use brute in a Sentence
–noun
1. a nonhuman creature; beast.
2. a brutal, insensitive, or crude person.
3. the animal qualities, desires, etc., of humankind: Father felt that rough games brought out the brute in us.
–adjective
4. animal; not human.
5. not characterized by intelligence or reason; irrational.
6. characteristic of animals; of brutal character or quality.
7. savage; cruel: brute force.
8. carnal; sensual.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME < MF < L brūtus heavy, devoid of feeling, irrational

Related forms:
brutelike, adjective
brutely, adverb
bruteness, noun

Synonyms:
1. See animal.

brute

2  [broot]
–verb (used with object), brut⋅ed, brut⋅ing.
to shape (a diamond) by rubbing with another diamond or a diamond chip.
Origin:
back formation from bruting a rough hewing (of a diamond), partial trans. of F brutage lit., a roughing, equiv. to brut rough, raw (see brute 1 ) + -age -age
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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brute   (brōōt)   
n.  
  1. An animal; a beast.
  2. A brutal, crude, or insensitive person.
adj.  
  1. Of or relating to beasts; animal: "None of the brute creation requires more than food and shelter" (Henry David Thoreau).
  2. Characteristic of a brute, especially:
    1. Entirely physical: brute force.
    2. Lacking or showing a lack of reason or intelligence: a brute impulse.
    3. Savage; cruel: brute coercion.
    4. Unremittingly severe: was driven to steal food through brute necessity.
  3. Coarse; brutish.

[From Middle English, nonhuman, from Old French brut, from Latin brūtus, stupid; see gwerə-1 in Indo-European roots.]
brut'ism 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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Brute

Brute\, a. [F. brut, nasc., brute, fem., raw, rough, rude, brutish, L. brutus stupid, irrational: cf. It. & Sp. bruto.]

1. Not having sensation; senseless; inanimate; unconscious; without intelligence or volition; as, the brute earth; the brute powers of nature.

2. Not possessing reason, irrational; unthinking; as, a brute beast; the brute creation.

A creature . . . not prone And brute as other creatures, but endued With sanctity of reason. --Milton.

3. Of, pertaining to, or characteristic of, a brute beast. Hence: Brutal; cruel; fierce; ferocious; savage; pitiless; as, brute violence. --Macaulay.

The influence of capital and mere brute labor. --Playfair.

4. Having the physical powers predominating over the mental; coarse; unpolished; unintelligent.

A great brute farmer from Liddesdale. --Sir W. Scott.

5. Rough; uncivilized; unfeeling. [R.]

Brute

Brute\, n. 1. An animal destitute of human reason; any animal not human; esp. a quadruped; a beast.

Brutes may be considered as either a["e]ral, terrestrial, aquatic, or amphibious. --Locke.

2. A brutal person; a savage in heart or manners; as unfeeling or coarse person.

An ill-natured brute of a husband. --Franklin.

Syn: See Beast.

Brute

Brute\, v. t. [For bruit.] To report; to bruit. [Obs.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : brute
Spanish: animal, bestia,
German: das Vieh,
Japanese: 獣
More Translations »

brute  (adj.)
c.1460, "of or belonging to animals," from M.Fr. brut "coarse, brutal," from L. brutus "heavy, dull, stupid," an Oscan word, from PIE base *gwer- "heavy." Before reaching Eng. meaning expanded to "of the lower animals." Used of human beings from 1535. The noun is from 1611. Brutal in the sense of "cruel" is from 1641; earlier "rude, stupid" (1510); in the original animal sense it is from c.1450.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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