Bruising

How to spell bruising

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce bruising

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does bruising mean?

1. verbForming or causing a bruise; injuring soft tissue so that it discolours.
2. adjectiveHarsh, punishing, or physically and mentally exhausting.

Bruising in a sentence

• verb

  The ripe peaches kept bruising against each other in the box.

• adjective

  The team suffered a bruising defeat in the final minutes of the match.

• verb

  She was forever bruising her shins on the low coffee table.

• adjective

  His bruising work schedule left him no time for his family.

Where does bruising come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word grows from the verb 'bruise', which in turn comes from the Old English 'brysan', meaning to crush or to pound something into a pulp. When the Normans arrived, the Old French 'bruiser' (also 'bruser'), meaning to break or smash, blended with the native English word and reinforced its sense of damage from a heavy blow. Over time the meaning narrowed from general crushing to the specific discolouration of skin and flesh that follows a knock. The present participle 'bruising' is simply the base verb with the '-ing' ending, and the same ending lets it work as an adjective for anything punishing or harsh. The spelling keeps the silent 'i' before the 'sing' from the parent word 'bruise', which is where many writers slip and drop a letter.

How the word is built

• bruise (from brysan: to crush)
• -ing (present participle / adjective suffix)