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"brave" in seven languages

Meaningbrave

Spanish

valiente

/baˈljente/

other source · Latin VALENTEM 'being strong'

French

courageux

/kuʁaʒø/

inherited

fem.: courageuse

Built in French on courage, from cœur 'heart'.

Italian

coraggioso

/koradˈdʒoso/

borrowed · coraggio, from Old French or Occitan corage

Portuguese

corajoso

/koɾaˈʒozu/

borrowed · coragem, from Old French or Occitan corage

Romanian

curajos

/kuraˈʒos/

borrowed · curaj, from French courage

Catalan

valent

/bəˈlen/

other source · Latin VALENTEM 'being strong'

English

brave

/bɹeɪv/

other source · Middle French brave, from Italian bravo

English → ItalianbravecoraggiosoNot relatedDifferent sources — learn this one fresh. But English has relatives: courage, encourage, cordial.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

*CORĀTICUM (from COR 'heart')‘heart, spirit’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

French and Italian say 'full of heart'; Spanish valiente is 'strong' (VALĒRE). Beware: Italian bravo now means 'good, skilled', and Spanish bravo means 'fierce, wild'.

English relatives: courage, encourage, cordial

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In a sentence

  • esFue muy valiente.
  • frElle a été très courageuse.
  • itÈ stata molto coraggiosa.
  • ptEla foi muito corajosa.
  • roA fost foarte curajoasă.
  • caVa ser molt valenta.
  • enShe was very brave.

More in Describing words

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