brat

brat · noun, verb, adjective¹

1. Old English · derived frombratt“cloak”
2. Scots · derived frombratchet“bitch, hound”
3. English todaybrat

Early Modern English (c. 1500) slang term meaning "beggar's child". Possibly from Scots bratchet (“bitch, hound”), in which case it would be a doublet of brachet. Another possibility is that it was originally a dialectal word, from northern and western England and the Midlands, for a "makeshift or ragged garment," from Old English bratt (“cloak”), which is from a Celtic source (Old Irish brat (“cloak, cloth”)). In the sense "characteristic of a confident and assertive woman", coined by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX in her 2024 album Brat, though occasional earlier uses of the word with a "reclaimed" or ironic, positive connotation existed, including in LGBTQ slang for people of certain femme or feminine-leaning personalities.

brat · noun²

1. German · derived fromBratwurst
2. English todaybrat

Clipping of bratwurst, from German Bratwurst.

Words from the same roots