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bruise (v.)

Old English brysan "to crush, pound, injure by a blow which discolors the skin," from Proto-Germanic *brusjan, from PIE root *bhreu- "to smash, cut, break up" (source also of Old Irish bronnaim "I wrong, I hurt;" Breton brezel "war," Vulgar Latin *brisare "to break"). Merged by 17c. with Anglo-French bruiser "to break, smash," from Old French bruisier "to break, shatter," perhaps from Gaulish *brus-, from the same PIE root. Of fruits from early 14c. Intransitive sense "become bruised" is by 1912. Related: Bruised; bruising.

bruise (n.)

"contusion without laceration, superficial injury caused by impact," 1540s, from bruise (v.).

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Definitions of bruise from WordNet
1
bruise (v.)
injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of;
I bruised my knee
Synonyms: contuse
bruise (v.)
hurt the feelings of;
This remark really bruised my ego
Synonyms: hurt / wound / injure / offend / spite
bruise (v.)
break up into small pieces for food preparation;
bruise the berries with a wooden spoon and strain them
bruise (v.)
damage (plant tissue) by abrasion or pressure;
The customer bruised the strawberries by squeezing them
2
bruise (n.)
an injury that doesn't break the skin but results in some discoloration;
Synonyms: contusion
From wordnet.princeton.edu