Meaning

noun an injury that doesn't break the skin but results in some discoloration

verb injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of

verb hurt the feelings of

originFrom Middle English bruisen, brusen, brosen, brisen, bresen, from a merger two words, both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to break”): * Old English brȳsan, brīesan (“to bruise; crush”), from Proto-Germanic *brausijaną, *brūsijaną (“to break; crumble; crack”). Provided the word's sense. * Anglo-Norman bruiser, bruser (“to break, smash, shatter”), from Gaulish *brus-, from…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0