brand new

• brand-new
• bran new, bran-new, brent new, brank new (all archaic or obsolete)

From brand (“firebrand”) +‎ new, implying something that is newly forged (first citation 1570; compare fire-new (“fresh from the fire, brand-new”)). Alternatively, and less likely from brand as in a branding iron (i.e. newly-branded). The first element of the variant bran new, with the post nasal stop deletion common to English (compare the common pronunciation (outside Britain) of hunting as hunning [hʌnɪŋ]), is often back-etymologized as being from bran as if from cases where new items were supposedly “packaged up with unwanted grain (bran) in the 18th century to protect the objects during transit” (source unknown). Both variants are well attested.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹænd ˌn(j)uː/, /ˈbɹæn.n(j)uː/

• Audio (US):

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brand new (not comparable)

1. Utterly new, as new as possible.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:new

   • 1570, John Foxe (source OED)

     New bodies, new minds ... and all thinges new, brande-newe

   • 1807, Alexander Chalmers, The British Essayists:

     two pair of bran-new plumpers

   • 1965, James Brown (lyrics and music), “Papa's Got A Brand New Bag”:

     He ain't no drag / Papa's got a brand new bag

   • 1983, Andrew Farriss, Michael Hutchence (lyrics and music), “Original Sin”, performed by INXS:

     Dream on white boy / Dream on black girl / And wake up to a brand new day / To find your dreams have washed away

2. (slang) Acting in a way unusual for oneself.

   Man, quit actin' brand new, bruh. You only being this way 'cause there's a girl.

• brand spanking new