When reading an article by Stephen Heyman in the Travel Section of the NYTimes (8/31/14)I became curious about the origin of the word “brat” so looked it up and found your exposition back in 2011 on The Word Detective. Heyman was referring to an exhibition in Vienna that included postcards from Sigmund Freud written to his wife while on holiday in Switzerland. The museum translated the message as “Say hello to the brats. . .” The usage surprised me which is why I looked it up. I wonder if the word “brats” had appeared in the German original. I trust Freud was using the term as Americans might say “little devils.”
Gentle Kisses:
January 7th, 2016 at 12:38 am
The word “brat” in Russian means “brother”.
I always reckoned that it was a reference to a naughty little brother … maybe “Satansbraten” meant something like “Satan’s little brother”… I suppose it would enter the lexicon in or around the years 300 to 500.
Sequuitor:
October 20th, 2017 at 8:18 pm
For what it is forth… my 1850 Latin lexicon offers as a Latin translation ( amongst a number of options) infants. None of the options given carry negative connotations nor appear pejorative.
I further ponder wether brat might be a corruption of bractus- meaning branch- possibly construed as scion.
Just musing- anyone familiar with Greek , Aramaic, or some similarly ancient language care to weigh in ?
Gwenyth Jett:
December 11th, 2020 at 12:36 pm
? explained “BRAT” as a status standing for British Regiment Attached Traveler, and it was assigned to families who were able to travel abroad with a soldier. Eventually, it just referred to military children. But the term stuck, and was adopted in many places around the world, including in the U.S., Apr 12, 2017.
I am proudly a US Army BRAT.
Charlene Tansengco:
April 5th, 2022 at 5:47 am
Just a brat looking at the definition of a brat, nothing else
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Betsey Metz:
August 30th, 2014 at 12:52 pm
When reading an article by Stephen Heyman in the Travel Section of the NYTimes (8/31/14)I became curious about the origin of the word “brat” so looked it up and found your exposition back in 2011 on The Word Detective. Heyman was referring to an exhibition in Vienna that included postcards from Sigmund Freud written to his wife while on holiday in Switzerland. The museum translated the message as “Say hello to the brats. . .” The usage surprised me which is why I looked it up. I wonder if the word “brats” had appeared in the German original. I trust Freud was using the term as Americans might say “little devils.”
Gentle Kisses:
January 7th, 2016 at 12:38 am
The word “brat” in Russian means “brother”.
I always reckoned that it was a reference to a naughty little brother … maybe “Satansbraten” meant something like “Satan’s little brother”… I suppose it would enter the lexicon in or around the years 300 to 500.
Sequuitor:
October 20th, 2017 at 8:18 pm
For what it is forth… my 1850 Latin lexicon offers as a Latin translation ( amongst a number of options) infants. None of the options given carry negative connotations nor appear pejorative.
I further ponder wether brat might be a corruption of bractus- meaning branch- possibly construed as scion.
Just musing- anyone familiar with Greek , Aramaic, or some similarly ancient language care to weigh in ?
Gwenyth Jett:
December 11th, 2020 at 12:36 pm
? explained “BRAT” as a status standing for British Regiment Attached Traveler, and it was assigned to families who were able to travel abroad with a soldier. Eventually, it just referred to military children. But the term stuck, and was adopted in many places around the world, including in the U.S., Apr 12, 2017.
I am proudly a US Army BRAT.
Charlene Tansengco:
April 5th, 2022 at 5:47 am
Just a brat looking at the definition of a brat, nothing else