- Home
- Idioms
- brute
brute
by brute strength
by great muscular strength. The men moved the heavy door by brute strength.
brute force
Also, brute strength. Savage violence, unreasoning strength, as in We hope that reason will triumph over brute force. Although this expression is also used literally to mean exceptional physical power, the figurative sense reflects the origin for brute, which comes from Latin brutus, for "heavy, stupid, unreasoning." [First half of 1700s]
et tu, Brute?
(pronounced “Bru-TAY”) An expression of feeling betrayed. Marcus Brutus was one of the conspirators against Julius Caesar, formerly his great friend. Shakespeare's drama has Caesar's dying words the Latin for “and you, Brutus?” meaning “and you too” and uttered with tragic resignation as the Roman emperor recognized Brutus as one of his assassins.