Browse Definitions :

Is that “brand-new” or “bran-new”? And why do we say it, anyway?

Writing for Business

Which is correct?
If you’re designing a ________ data center, green tech should be a priority.
a. brand-new
b. bran-new
c. new


Answer: c.

Explanation:
“Brand” doesn’t add anything to the meaning of “new,” so for formal writing it’s better to avoid it.

The other day, I heard something referred to as “brand new” and suddenly wondered where that expression comes from. The wonderful Word Detective explains that “brand” comes from Old English, in which it meant “fire” or “a torch.” Something that was brand-new would have been something just out of the fires of creation, like a forged sword or a pottery bowl. Shakespeare actually used “fire-new” to mean the same thing in several plays.

“Bran-new” is a common variation on “brand-new,” although it’s usually considered an error. If memory serves, it was used more commonly some years ago but it still appears fairly often online.

Ben Zimmer (@bgzimmer) digs into the history to respond to a reader message on Visual Thesaurus:

It appears that the advice that Dorothy got lo those many years ago was entirely backwards. Brand-new is the historically earlier form, and bran-new arose as a kind of reinterpretation. But that reinterpretation has proved remarkably sturdy over the years, to the extent that some speakers of English (as in Dorothy’s neck of the woods) take it to be the primary form, with brand-new as a mispronunciation/misspelling that ought to be “corrected.”

Ben Zimmer’s post and the Word Detective entry are both full of interesting information, so you probably want to go read them.

Follow me on Twitter @tao_of_grammar

Dig Deeper on Writing for Business

Networking
  • firewall as a service (FWaaS)

    Firewall as a service (FWaaS), also known as a cloud firewall, is a service that provides cloud-based network traffic analysis ...

  • private 5G

    Private 5G is a wireless network technology that delivers 5G cellular connectivity for private network use cases.

  • NFVi (network functions virtualization infrastructure)

    NFVi (network functions virtualization infrastructure) encompasses all of the networking hardware and software needed to support ...

Security
  • virus (computer virus)

    A computer virus is a type of malware that attaches itself to a program or file. A virus can replicate and spread across an ...

  • Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)

    Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) is an advanced certification that indicates that an individual possesses the ...

  • cryptography

    Cryptography is a method of protecting information and communications using codes, so that only those for whom the information is...

CIO
  • IT project management

    IT project management is the process of planning, organizing and delineating responsibility for the completion of an ...

  • chief financial officer (CFO)

    A chief financial officer (CFO) is the corporate title for the person responsible for managing a company's financial operations ...

  • chief strategy officer (CSO)

    A chief strategy officer (CSO) is a C-level executive charged with helping formulate, facilitate and communicate an ...

HRSoftware
  • HR automation

    Human resources automation (HR automation) is a method of using software to automate and streamline repetitive and laborious HR ...

  • compensation management

    Compensation management is the discipline and process for determining employees' appropriate pay and benefits.

  • HR technology (human resources tech)

    HR technology (human resources technology) is an umbrella term for hardware and software used to automate the human resource ...

Customer Experience
  • martech (marketing technology)

    Martech (marketing technology) refers to the integration of software tools, platforms, and applications designed to streamline ...

  • transactional marketing

    Transactional marketing is a business strategy that focuses on single, point-of-sale transactions.

  • customer profiling

    Customer profiling is the detailed and systematic process of constructing a clear portrait of a company's ideal customer by ...

Close