brazen

The story

1. Old English · inherited frombræsen“brazen, of brass”
2. Middle English · inherited frombrasen
3. English todaybrazen

From Middle English brasen, from Old English bræsen (“brazen, of brass”); equivalent to brass + -en (compare golden, wooden, etc.). The word originally meant “of brass”; the figurative verb sense (as in brazen it out (“face impudently”)) dates from the 1550s (perhaps evoking the sense “face like brass, unmoving and not showing shame”), and the adjective sense “impudent” from the 1570s. Compare brass neck, bold as brass.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 1570s Shameless or impudent; shocking or audacious; brash.
• from 1550s. Generally followed by out or through: to carry through in a brazen manner; to act boldly despite embarrassment, risk, etc.