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Where does the word "bizarre" come from? It comes from Italian bizzarro, passing through French before entering English (1640s).
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Where does the word "bizarre" come from? It comes from Italian bizzarro, passing through French before entering English (1640s).
Bizarre’s story begins in Italian: bizzarro meant “angry, irascible.” An Italian word, possibly from Basque 'bizar', beard. By 1500s, the word had taken hold in French as bizarre. The French shifted the sense to 'odd'. It reached English by 1640s as bizarre. 'bizarre' fashion dates from the 1700s. Today, bizarre means very strange.
- Stage 1 · Italian · 1500s bizzarro "angry, irascible", an Italian word, possibly from Basque 'bizar', beard.
- Stage 2 · French · 1500s bizarre "odd", the French shifted the sense to 'odd'.
- Stage 3 · English · 1640s bizarre "odd", 'bizarre' fashion dates from the 1700s.