Other forms: brutes
A brute is a cruel and violent person or animal. An absolute brute, the brute struck him, a great brute of a dog.
As an adjective it means raw and unthinking: brute force, brute strength, the brute facts. Brute force is also a technical term in computing for solving a problem by trying every possibility rather than by being clever about it. Note brutal and brutality, which are far commoner than the noun; and that a great brute of a thing is affectionate British usage for anything large and unwieldy.
1nounbruteA cruel and violent person or animal.
“The brute kicked the dog and laughed about it.”
2adjectiverawRaw and unthinking.
“The boxer relied on brute strength rather than skill.”
brute is a violent creature, or raw force.
Latin brutus meant heavy, dull or stupid, and the Romans used it of animals as against reasoning humans. The name Brutus is the same word, which is one of the less flattering family names in history.
Proto-Indo-European
*gʷreh₂-
Proto-Indo-European
*gʷréh₂us — heavy
Latin
brūtus — dull, stupid, insensible
Old French
brut
Middle French
brut
English, today
brute
From Middle French brut, from Old French brut, from Latin brūtus (“dull, stupid, insensible”), an osc - loanword, from Proto-Indo-European gʷréh₂us (“heavy”). Cognate with Ancient Greek βαρύς, Persian گران and Sanskrit गुरु (English guru).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA