бре

Bulgarian

Alternative forms

• бе (be), бро (bro)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Byzantine Greek βρέ (bré)der.

Ottoman Turkish بره (bre)bor.

Bulgarian бре

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بره (bre), from Byzantine Greek βρέ (bré).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [brɛ]

• Audio (Standard Bulgarian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -rɛ

Interjection

бре • (bre)

1. used for emphasis along with vocative appellations

   Кажи що сакаш, бре!

   Kaži što sakaš, bre!

   Say what's on your mind, fool!

   Бре, отиде конят у ряката!

   Bre, otide konjat u rjakata!

   Mate, the situation got totally screwed!

   (literally, “Mate, the horse has gone into the river!”)

2. used as an intensifier in expressive phrases

   Ха бре, у бре!

   Ha bre, u bre!

   Hop-on, hop-off!

   Чиба, бре!

   Čiba, bre!

   Shoo, shoo!

Related terms

• мо́ре (móre) (form of address)

References

• “бре”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “бре”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “бре, брей”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 75

Macedonian

Etymology

Possibly from Ottoman Turkish بره (bre), from Byzantine Greek βρέ (bré) (compare Turkish bre, Serbo-Croatian бре, Albanian bre, and Greek μωρέ (moré), βρε (vre) and ρε (re)), probably shortened from μωρέ (mōré, “man!”, literally “fool!”), in which case it would be a doublet of море (more).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [brɛ]

Interjection

бре • (bre)

1. (intensifier) used to express aggression, impatience, fervor or similar emotions
2. (intensifier) used to intensify vocatives, conveying the emotions explained above

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish بره (bre), from Byzantine Greek μπρέ (mpré), from Ancient Greek μωρέ (mōré). Doublet of mȏre.

Interjection

бре (Latin spelling bre)

1. (Serbia, colloquial) used to insist on or emphasize something being said or commanded, often also stressing the speaker’s perception of its evidentness: bro, man, I say, I’m telling you, can’t you see
2. (Serbia, colloquial) used to insist on an answer to or emphasize a question: on earth, the hell

   Шта си бре то урадио!? ― What the hell did you just do!?

3. (Serbia, colloquial) used to intensify a preceding interjection

Usage notes

When marking a statement or question as insistent, bre is ordinarily found either immediately after the verb or at the end of the sentence. However, if an interjection or vocative is present, it can instead appear next to it, following an interjection and following or preceding a vocative. In wh-questions bre can also follow the interrogative pronoun.

Related terms

• bwe

Descendants

• → German: Bre
• → Pannonian Rusyn: бре (bre)
• → Swedish: bre

References

• Jasmina Milićević (2012) “Šta ustvari znači to bre? ‘What does this bre mean, actually?’ Defining Serbian interjection bre ≈ ‘I’m telling / asking you!’”
• Mirjana Mišković-Luković, Mirjana N. Dedaić, and Vladimir Polomac (2015) “The meaning and interpretation of the Serbian discourse marker BRE” in Journal of Pragmatics, vol. 87, pages 18–30