bra
Translingual
English

Pronunciation
- enPR: brä, IPA(key): /bɹɑː/
- (Ireland, Ottawa Valley): IPA(key): /bɹæ/
Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɑː
Etymology 1
Clipping of brassiere, borrowed from French brassière, from Old French braciere (originally a lining inside armor to protect the arm, but later a garment), from Old French brace (“arm”), from Latin bracchia, plural of Latin bracchium (“forearm”), from Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn, “forearm”), from Proto-Hellenic *brəkʰús (“short”) (because the forearm is shorter than the upper arm), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus.
Noun
bra (plural bras)
Derived terms
- balconette bra
- balcony bra
- bra burner
- bra-burning
- bra chain
- bra insert
- bra-ket
- bullet bra
- cage bra
- cantilever bra
- car bra
- cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra
- jog bra
- jogging bra
- long-line bra
- maternity bra
- nursing bra
- peekaboo bra
- peek-a-boo bra
- plunge bra
- pocket bra
- push-up bra
- shelf bra
- sports bra
- starter bra
- trainer bra
- training bra
- T-shirt bra
- underwired bra
Translations
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Etymology 2
From bracket, referring to the notation introduced in 1939 by Paul Dirac.
Noun
bra (plural bras)
- (physics) One of the two vectors in the standard notation for describing quantum states in quantum mechanics, the row vector; the other (column) vector being its complex conjugate, the ket.
Antonyms
Related terms
- bra-ket
- ket-bra
Noun
bra (plural bras)
Afrikaans
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /brɑː/
Cebuano
Pronunciation
- Hyphenation: bra
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:bra.
Garo
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Khotanese
Norman
Etymology
From Old French bras, from Vulgar Latin *bracium, from Classical Latin bracchium, from Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn).
Norwegian Bokmål
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɾɑː/
Adjective
bra (indeclinable, comparative bedre, indefinite superlative best, definite superlative beste)
Derived terms
References
- “bra” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
Norwegian Nynorsk
Adjective
bra (indeclinable, comparative betre, indefinite superlative best, definite superlative beste)
Derived terms
References
- “bra” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
Scots
Etymology 1
Borrowed from braf (“good, brave”); from Low German brav; from French brave, borrowed from Italian bravo.
See also
Swedish
Etymology
Since at least 1621, from braf (“good, brave”); from Low German brav; from French brave, borrowed from Italian bravo.
Pronunciation
audio (file) - IPA(key): /brɑː/, /brɒː/
Adjective
bra (comparative bättre, superlative bäst)
- good (having pleasing or suitable qualities)
- Synonym: (jocular, childish) braig
- en bra film
- a good movie
- – Ska vi måla den blå? – Ja, det blir bra.
- – Should we paint it blue? – Yeah, that'll be good.
- Han är bra på tennis
- He is good at tennis
- Hon är en bra människa
- She is a (morally) good person (see the usage notes below)
- healthy or recovered (from an illness or injury or the like), well
- Jag är inte riktigt bra i benet än
- My leg hasn't quite recovered yet ("I'm not quite well in the leg yet")
- – Känner du dig bättre idag? – Ja, men inte helt bra.
- – Are you feeling better today? – Yeah, but not completely well.
- quite large in extent or degree, good, goodly
- Synonym: (often a bit old-fashioned, but idiomatic in some cases where "bra" is not) god
- Det här kommer ta ett bra tag
- This is going to take a good while
- Det är en bra bit att åka
- It's quite a distance to drive
- De tjänade en bra slant
- They made a pretty penny ("made a sizable coin," "tjäna en slant" is idiomatic)
Usage notes
- "Good" as in morally good is more specifically god, but some overlap occurs since someone morally good can also be considered to have good qualities (be considered to be a "good kind of person").
- In informal (often jocular or childish) contexts, bäst may be inflected further and given the comparative bästare (bester) and the superlative bästast, bästaste (bestest); these forms are also nonstandard.
Declension
Inflection of bra | |||
---|---|---|---|
Indefinite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative2 |
Common singular | bra | bättre | bäst |
Neuter singular | bra | bättre | bäst |
Plural | bra | bättre | bäst |
Masculine plural3 | bra | bättre | bäst |
Definite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
Masculine singular1 | bra | bättre | bäste |
All | bra | bättre | bästa |
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine. 2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. 3) Dated or archaic |
Adverb
bra (comparative bättre, superlative bäst)
- well
- Mår du bra?
- Are you feeling well? / Are you okay?
- Han spelade bra idag
- He played well today
- a good deal, quite (to quite a large extent or degree)
- Rattfylla är bra mycket vanligare bland män
- Drunk driving is a good deal more common among men
- Den där älgen är bra stor!
- That moose is quite the big one!
- Filmen var bra kass
- The movie was quite the stinker
- bra dålig
- substantially bad (literally also "good bad")
References
Tagalog
Pronunciation
- (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈbɾa/ [ˈbɾa]
- Rhymes: -a
- Syllabification: bra
Derived terms
- magbra
- pagbabra
See also
Yola
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Middle French brave, borrowed from Italian bravo, itself of uncertain origin.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bɾɔː/, /bɾɔːv/
Adjective
bra
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 27