[Ads-l] Antedating of bro and bruh

[Shapiro, Fred]

OED documents many senses of "bro," extending back to the 16th century.  Probably the sense you are interested in is the following:

II.3.b.
1918–
Used as a familiar form of address to a man. Cf. brother n. A.II.4c<https://www.oed.com/dictionary/brother_n?tab=meaning_and_use#13043410>, bra n.1 1a<https://www.oed.com/dictionary/bra_n1?tab=meaning_and_use#276658153>.

  1.
1918
Bro', I can't go, I sick bad, I can't walk at all.
E. C. Parsons, Folk-Tales of Andros Island, Bahamas xix. 30

I have not antedated this or any of the other senses, and I am not sure how I would go about researching them.

Fred Shapiro




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