# brawn

> English word · Noun · IPA /bɹɔːn/ · frequency rank #38,767

## Definitions
1. Strong muscles or lean flesh, especially of the arm, leg or thumb.
2. Physical strength; muscularity.
3. Head cheese; a terrine made from the head of a pig or calf; originally boar's meat.
4. A boar.

## Etymology
From Middle English brawne, from Old French braon (“slice of meat, fleshy part, buttock”), from Frankish *brādon, *brādan, accusative form of *brādō (“roasted meat, ham”), from Proto-Germanic *brēdô (“meat, roast”), of uncertain further origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreh₁- (“to burn, heat”).
Akin to Old High German brāto (“tender meat”) (German Braten (“roast”)), Old English brǣde, brǣd (“flesh, meat”), Old Norse bráð (“raw meat”).

## Easily confused with
- **brew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-brew)
- **brow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-brow)
- **bray** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-bray)
- **Bryn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-bryn)
- **bren** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-bren)
- **brin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-brin)
- **brown** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-brown)
- **Brian** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-brian)
- **Bryan** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-bryan)
- **brows** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-brows)
- **brews** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-brews)
- **brazen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brawn-vs-brazen)
- **ban** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ban-vs-brawn)
- **bra** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bra-vs-brawn)
- **brad** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brad-vs-brawn)
- **barn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/barn-vs-brawn)
- **bean** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bean-vs-brawn)
- **brag** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brag-vs-brawn)
- **brat** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brat-vs-brawn)
- **bran** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bran-vs-brawn)

## Common misspellings (8)
`barwn`, `bbrawn`, `branw`, `brawnn`, `brawwn`, `brrawn`, `brwan`, `rbawn`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/brawn