A shout of approval or praise, especially for a female performer or artist.
From Italian 'brava,' the feminine form of 'bravo' (brave, excellent), originally used to acclaim Italian opera singers. It spread to English through the world of classical music and theater.
The gender distinction between 'bravo' (masculine) and 'brava' (feminine) survived in English only for this one word, making it a linguistic time capsule of how opera audiences have shouted encouragement for centuries.
Italian feminine form of 'bravo'; linguistic gender encoding persists in English borrowing. 'Brava' reserved for women performers, 'bravo' for men, reflecting assumption that excellence defaults to male.
Use 'bravo' as gender-neutral alternative, or use 'brava' consciously for any performer regardless of gender to actively decenter gendering.
["bravo (gender-neutral)","bravissimo (superlative, not gendered)"]
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