Gymbro

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A man who spends much of his time lifting weights and who places great importance on muscular fitness and gym culture
2. A person, typically male, whose life revolves around bodybuilding routines, workout habits and a muscular physique
3. Describing a stereotypical muscular young man who is intensely focused on exercise at the gym and on looking physically strong

Etymology: "Gym bro" is a compound of two ordinary English words: "gym", short for gymnasium, and "bro", a clipped form of "brother" that became a casual term for a male friend. Put together, the pair describes a man whose social world is built around the weight room. The first part traces back through Latin "gymnasium" to Greek "gymnasion", a place for exercise where men trained, often naked, which is where the idea of physical training as a public activity began. The second part is informal American slang, which is why the compound feels so casual: "bro" carries the easy familiarity of a friend rather than a family tie. The combined word is the alternative spelling "gymbro", written as one word rather than two. Its meaning has little to do with the original Greek sense of exercise and everything to do with the modern gym culture the compound now names.