From Middle English bruisen, brusen, brosen, brisen, bresen, from a merger two words, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews-:
Old English brȳsan, brīesan, from Proto-Germanic *brausijaną, *brūsijaną. Provided the word's sense.
Anglo-Norman bruiser, bruser, from Gaulish *brus-, from Proto-Celtic *bruseti. Provided the word's form.
Cognate with Scots brizz, German brausen, Old English brosnian, Dutch broos, German Brosame, dialectal Norwegian brøysk, Latin frustum, Old Church Slavonic бръснути, Albanian breshër ("hail").
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