- brass
- O.E. bręs "brass, bronze," originally in reference to an alloy of copper and tin (now bronze), later and in modern use an alloy of two parts copper, one part zinc. A mystery word, with no known cognates beyond English. Perhaps akin to Fr. brasser "to brew," since it is an alloy. It also has been compared to O.Swed. brasa "fire," but no sure connection can be made. Yet another theory connects it with L. ferrum "iron," itself of obscure origin. As brass was unknown in antiquity, use of the word in the Bible, etc., likely means "bronze." Words for "brass" in other languages (e.g. Ger. Messing, O.E. męsling, Fr. laiton, It. ottone) also tend to be difficult to explain. The meaning "effrontery, impudence" is from 1620s. Slang sense of "high officials" is first recorded 1899. The brass tacks that you get down to (1897) are probably the ones used to measure cloth on the counter of a dry goods store, suggesting precision. Slang brass balls "toughness, courage" (emphatically combining two metaphors for the ssme thing) attested by 1960s.