Etymology
1. O.E.
brysan "to crush," from P.Gmc.
*brusjanan, from PIE base
*bhreus- "to smash, crush" (cf. O.Ir.
bronnaim "I wrong, I hurt;" Bret.
brezel "war," V.L.
brisare "to break"). Merged by 17c. with Anglo-Fr.
bruiser "to break, smash," from O.Fr.
bruisier "to break, shatter," perhaps from Gaul.
*brus-, from the same base. The noun is first recorded 1541.
Bruiser "a boxer" is attested from 1744.
2. From Middle English bruisen, brusen, brosen, brisen, bresen, from a merger two words, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to break”):
3. * Old English brȳsan, brīesan (“to bruise; crush”), from Proto-Germanic *brausijaną, *brūsijaną (“to break; crumble; crack”). Provided the word's sense.
4. * Anglo-Norman bruiser, bruser (“to break, smash, shatter”), from Gaulish *brus-, from Proto-Celtic *bruseti (“to break”). Provided the word's form.
5. Cognate with Scots brizz, German brausen (“to roar; boom; pound”), Old English brosnian (“to crumble, fall apart”), Dutch broos (“brittle”), German Brosame (“crumb”), dialectal Norwegian brøysk (“breakable”), Latin frustum (“bit, scrap”), Old Church Slavonic бръснути (brŭsnuti, “to rake”), Albanian breshër (“hail”). See: Proto-Germanic '
*brausijaną', German, old spelling '
brausen', Old English '
brosnian'.