Plural of bravo; enthusiastic shouts of approval or applause, often shouted at performances.
From Italian 'bravo' meaning 'brave' or 'skilled,' which entered English in the 18th century as an exclamation of praise at operas and theatrical performances. The word eventually came to mean the shout itself.
Opera audiences didn't always have smartphones to record performances—shouting 'bravo!' was their only way to show immediate appreciation, and the tradition became so iconic that it's still the gold standard for live performance approval today.
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