different between bald vs brash

English

Etymology

From Middle English bald, balde, belde, ballid, balled (“bald”), of uncertain origin. Probably formed from Middle English bal, balle (“ball, round object, knoll, head”). Compare with Old Danish bældet (“bald”).

Alternate etymology has Gothic ????????????????- (bala-, “shining, grey (of body)”), Old English b?l (“fire, flame; funeral pyre”) (both from Proto-Germanic *b?l?), Albanian balë (“white spot on the forehead”) and ball (“forehead”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /b??ld/, [b???d] Non-standard: IPA^(key): /b??ld/, [b??ld]
• (US) IPA^(key): /b?ld/; (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /b?ld/
• Rhymes: -??ld
• Homophone: balled

Adjective

bald (comparative balder, superlative baldest)

1. Having no hair, fur or feathers.

   Synonym: hairless

   Antonyms: faxed, haired

   • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

     The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces.

2. (specifically) Having no hair on the head.
3. (by extension) Denuded of any covering.

4. Of tyres: whose surface is worn away.
5. (of a statement or account) Unembellished.
6. (of a statement) Without evidence or support being provided.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

bald (plural balds)

1. (Appalachia) A mountain summit or crest that lacks forest growth despite a warm climate conducive to such, as is found in many places in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Verb

bald (third-person singular simple present balds, present participle balding, simple past and past participle balded)

1. (intransitive) To become bald.

See also

• callow
• nott

Translations

Further reading

• bald on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Appalachian balds on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• ABDL, DLAB, blad

German

Etymology

From Middle High German balde, from Old High German baldo, adverb of bald, pald, from Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz, from Proto-Indo-European *b?el-. Cognate with Dutch boud, English bold.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /balt/
• Homophone: ballt

Adverb

bald (comparative eher or früher, superlative am ehesten or frühesten)

1. soon, near in time

   Synonyms: demnächst, in Kürze, zeitnah

2. almost

   Synonyms: fast, beinahe

Derived terms

• alsbald
• bis bald
• in Bälde
• sobald

Related terms

• -bold

Further reading

• “bald” in Duden online

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?ld/, [b??d]

Adjective

bald (Anglian)

1. Alternative form of beald

Declension

Old High German

Alternative forms

• pald

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz, whence also Old English bald, Old Norse ballr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bald/

Adjective

bald

1. bold, quick

Derived terms

• bald?
• baldo

Descendants

• Middle High German: balt

References

• Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *balþ, from Proto-Germanic *balþaz, whence also Old English bald, Old Norse ballr.

Adjective

bald (comparative baldoro, superlative baldost)

1. bold, fearless

Declension

Descendants

• Middle Low German: bald, bold, balt, bolt
  • German Low German: bold, boll

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?æ?/
• Rhymes: -æ?

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Perhaps from Scots brash, brasch (“a violent onset; an attack or assault”). Perhaps also related to Dutch bars (“stern; strict”), German barsch (“harsh; unfriendly”), Danish barsk (“harsh; rough; tough”), Swedish barsk (“harsh; impetuous”).

Adjective

brash (comparative brasher or more brash, superlative brashest or most brash)

1. (of people or behaviour) Overly bold or self-assertive to the point of being insensitive, tactless or impudent; shameless.

   Synonyms: audacious, brassy, brazen, cocky, undiplomatic

   • 1902, Opie Read, The Starbucks, Chicago: Laird & Lee, Chapter , p. 210,^[1]

     Mrs. Mayfield looked away, and the girl stricken with remorse, hastened to her and said: “There, I have been too brash, haven’t I? You must forgive me for I didn’t intend to be brash.”

     “Brash, my dear? What do you mean by that?”

     She laughed. “Why, I thought everybody know’d what brash meant. Well, it’s er—too quick to say somethin’ you oughtn’t to say.”

   • 1925, Sinclair Lewis, Arrowsmith, Chapter 17,^[2]

     Trouble with Silzer is, he’s too brash—shoots off his mouth too much—likes to hear himself talk.

   • 1958, Peter De Vries, Mackerel Plaza, Penguin, 1986, Chapter 14, p. 209,

     The American’s brash unconcern for nuance indicates a young and vigorous country, the Briton’s clipped speech an ancient, proverbial reserve.

   • 2013, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah, New York: Knopf, Chapter 54,^[3]

     Edusco liked him, he could tell; he imagined Edusco talking about him in a gathering of other self-made Igbo men, men who were brash and striving, who juggled huge businesses and supported vast extended families.

2. (of actions) Overly bold, impetuous or rash.

   Synonyms: foolhardy, reckless

   • 1905, Andy Adams, The Outlet, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin, Chapter 2, p. 22,^[4]

     […] just because you’re a little hot under the collar, don’t do anything brash, for fear you may regret it afterward.

   • 1960, George O. Smith, “The Troublemakers,” Galaxy Science Fiction Volume 18, No. 4, April 1960, p. 156,^[5]

     Now, Mr. Reed, you’ve committed nothing but a brash act of bad taste by bypassing the standard channels.

3. (of things) Bold, bright or showy, often in a tasteless way.

   Synonyms: flashy, garish, loud, splashy; see also Thesaurus:gaudy

   brash colours; a brash perfume

   • 1963, Ian Fleming, Thrilling Cities, London: Jonathan Cape, Chapter 1, “Hong Kong,”^[6]

     There are scores of brash and noisy bars along Lockhart Street and in Wanchai and North Point (on the island) and throughout the back lanes of Kowloon […]

   • 1996, Guy Vanderhaeghe, The Englishman’s Boy, New York: Picador, 1998, Chapter 24, p. 243,^[7]

     The driveway is filled with vehicles parked bumper to bumper and the house is lit up like I’ve never seen it before, brash yellow light streaming from every window on every floor, and the tinny, nasal sound of gramophone jazz trumpeting inside.

Translations

Noun

brash (countable and uncountable, plural brashes)

1. A rash or eruption; a sudden or transient fit of sickness.
2. A sudden burst of rain.
3. (obsolete) An attack or assault.

Derived terms

• water brash
• weaning brash

Verb

brash (third-person singular simple present brashes, present participle brashing, simple past and past participle brashed)

1. (transitive, obsolete) To disturb.

Etymology 2

Compare American English bresk, brusk (“fragile, brittle”).

Adjective

brash (comparative brasher or more brash, superlative brashest or most brash)

1. (US, colloquial, dated) Brittle (said e.g. of wood or vegetables).

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Bartlett to this entry?)

Noun

brash (countable and uncountable, plural brashes)

1. Leaf litter of small leaves and little twigs as found under a hedge.
2. (geology) Broken and angular rock fragments underlying alluvial deposits.
   • 1839, Sir Charles Lyell, Elements of Geology

     Alluvium differs from the rubble or brash , just described , as being composed of sand and gravel , more or less rolled

3. Broken fragments of ice.
   • 1853, Elisha Kent Kane, The U. S. Grinnell Expedition in Search of Sir John Franklin

     The sea dashed in an angry surf over its inclined sides, rattling the icy fragments or “brash” against its irregular surface

Further reading

• brash in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• Harbs, brahs, h bars, h-bars, hbars, shrab

Scots

Noun

brash (plural brashes)

1. illness, fit

Derived terms

• water brash