brigade

Where does the word "brigade" come from? It comes from Italian briga, passing through Italian and French before entering English (1600s-1700s).

Brigade’s story begins in Italian: briga meant “strife, conflict.” Meaning "strife" or "a fight". Within Italian, it grew into brigata by medieval. Came to mean a company or troop banded together. From there it passed into French as brigade by 1600s. Adopted for a large body of troops. It reached English by 1600s-1700s as brigade. A brigade of two or more regiments became a standard army unit in the 1600s. Today, brigade means a large military unit, or an organized group performing a task together.

1. Stage 1 · Italian · medieval briga "strife, conflict", meaning "strife" or "a fight".
2. Stage 2 · Italian · medieval brigata "a company, troop", came to mean a company or troop banded together.
3. Stage 3 · French · 1600s brigade "a large military unit", adopted for a large body of troops.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1600s-1700s brigade "a large organized group, especially military or firefighting", a brigade of two or more regiments became a standard army unit in the 1600s.