BRAWL

Meaning

A disorderly argument or fight, usually with a large number of people involved.

Etymology

Origin: Middle English

The verb is derived from Late Middle English braulen, brall, brallen (“to clamour, to shout; to quarrel; to boast”); further etymology is uncertain, but the word could be related to bray and ultimately imitative. It may be cognate with Danish bralle (“to chatter, jabber”), Dutch brallen (“to boast”), Low German brallen (“to brag”), Middle High German prālen (“to boast, flaunt”) (modern German prahlen (“to boast, flaunt, vaunt”)). The noun is derived from Middle English brall, bralle, braul, braule, brawle (“disturbance, squabble; brawl”), from the verb braulen: see above.

Synonyms & Antonyms

NYT Puzzle Appearances

No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2019.