brave

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brave brave men lived before Agamemnon to be remembered the exploits of a hero must be recorded, as Agamemnon's were by Homer in the Iliad. The Roman poet Horace (65–8 bc) has, ‘Many brave men lived before Agamemnon's time; but they are all, unmourned and unknown, covered by the long night, because they lack their sacred poet.’ The saying is recorded from the early 19th century.
brave new world used to refer, often ironically, to a new and hopeful period in history resulting from major changes in society, from the title of a satirical novel by Aldous Huxley (1932), originally with reference to Miranda's words in Shakespeare's The Tempest, on first encountering other human beings.
none but the brave deserve the fair proverbial saying, late 17th century; originally from Dryden's poem Alexander's Feast (1697), describing the Athenian courtesan Thaïs seated beside Alexander the Great.
the bravest of the brave nickname of Marshal Ney, from Napoleon's comment on him when Ney commanded the rearguard on the retreat from Moscow in 1812.

See also fortune of Chancery.

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ELIZABETH KNOWLES
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brave / brāv/ • adj. ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage. ∎ poetic/lit. fine or splendid in appearance: his medals made a brave show. • n. 1. [as pl. n.] (the brave) people who are ready to face and endure danger or pain. 2. dated an American Indian warrior. ∎  a young man who shows courage or a fighting spirit. • v. [tr.] endure or face (unpleasant conditions or behavior) without showing fear: we had to brave the full heat of the sun. DERIVATIVES: brave·ly adv. brave·ness n.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English
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brave XV. — F. brave — It. bravo bold, accomplished, or Sp. bravo courageous, fine :- Rom. *brabus, for L. barbarus BARBAROUS, through *brabarus.
So brave vb. XVI. — F. braver, f. brave (after It. bravare). bravery XVI. — F. braverie or It. braveria.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD
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brave •behave, brave, Cave, clave, concave, crave, Dave, deprave, engrave, enslave, fave, forgave, gave, grave, knave, lave, Maeve, misbehave, misgave, nave, outbrave, pave, rave, save, shave, shortwave, slave, stave, they've, waive, wave •enclave • exclave • conclave •Redgrave • architrave • Wargrave •Palgrave • palsgrave • aftershave •brainwave • heatwave • microwave

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes