Meaning of brute in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Noun
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /brut/

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  1. Noun

    brute

    Etymology

    late Middle English (as an adjective): from Old French brut(e), from Latin brutus‘dull, stupid’

    Definitions

    1. a cruelly rapacious person

    Derived terms

  2. 2. a living organism characterized by voluntary movement

    Derived terms

Famous quotes

  • « They are few in the midst of an overwhelming mass of brute force, and their submission is wisdom but for a nation like England to submit to be robbed by any invader who chooses to visit her shores seemed to me to be nonsense. »
    George Combe
  • « Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world. »
    Thomas Carlyle
  • « 'Charm' - which means the power to effect work without employing brute force - is indispensable to women. Charm is a woman's strength just as strength is a man's charm. »
    Havelock Ellis
  • « A rude nature is worse than a brute nature by so much more as man is better than a beast: and those that are of civil natures and genteel dispositions are as much nearer to celestial creatures as those that are rude and cruel are to devils. »
    Margaret Cavendish
  • « The exact measure of the progress of civilization is the degree in which the intelligence of the common mind has prevailed over wealth and brute force. »
    George Bancroft

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