Brawned

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Exhibiting a muscular and well-defined physique that suggests strength Characterized by a strong and powerful body that signifies physical fitness Displaying an impressively robust appearance indicative of considerable physical capability
2. Having a physique marked by muscular development and evident strength
3. Possessing a body with prominent muscles showing notable physical power

Etymology: The adjective "brawned" comes from "brawn", and its surprising starting point is the dinner table: "brawn" originally meant cured or roasted meat, especially the fleshy parts such as the buttock or thigh. Its ancestor was the Proto-Germanic word for roast meat, and it passed into Old French as "braon" (a slice of meat), which English borrowed in the Middle Ages as "brawne". Meat and muscle are closely linked here: the sense of a fleshy cut gradually shifted toward the flesh of the body itself. Muscle was the bridge. Once "brawn" meant the strong, fleshy part of an animal, it came to mean the fleshy power of a person's body, and then physical strength itself. The word still carries that dual history, since "brawn" can mean either the muscular bulk of a person or, in British usage, a jellied dish made from pig's head meat. "Brawned" is simply the past form of "brawn" used as an adjective, so the description of a muscular build comes straight from that long shift from food to physique.

Synonyms: muscular, strong, sturdy, well-built, athletic

Antonyms: weak, frail, delicate, slender, thin