"liveliness, vivacity," 1734, from Italian brio "mettle, fire, life," perhaps a shortened derivative of Latin ebrius "drunk." Or via Provençal briu "vigor," from Celtic *brig-o- "strength," from PIE root *gwere- (1) "heavy." Probably it entered English via the musical instruction con brio.
)window.location='https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=byronic106@yahoo.com&lc=US&item_name=Donation+to +Help+Keep+Etymonline+Free+and+Open&no_note=0&cn=&curency_code=USD&bn=PP-DonationsBF:btn_donateCC_LG.gif:NonHosted'){kind=link}