Bronze
/brɒnz/noun
A hard, brownish-yellow alloy of copper and tin.
Did you know?The word entered English through French, but its deeper origin is uncertain and likely tied to Mediterranean trade with no securely proven ancient root.
Etymological Timeline
Modern English
English
bronze
“a copper-tin alloy, often used for statues and tools”
16th Century
French
bronze
“bronze; also a brownish metallic color”
Late Latin
Late Latin
brundium / brontium?
“uncertain intermediary forms sometimes proposed in scholarship, but not securely established”
Classical Latin
Latin
brundisium?
“uncertain and disputed; no consensus on a definitive Latin source”
Ancient Mediterranean
Unknown
?
“origin unresolved; likely borrowed through commercial contact in the ancient world”