brio

[Italian, from Spanish brio or Provençal briu, both of Celtic origin.]

No, it's not a type of cheese nor a kind of bread. Brio means life, vim, vigor... New York Times columnist Frank Rich used the word to jab at the US secretary of defense:

"Donald Rumsfeld. With indefatigable brio, he has long since united Democrats, Republicans, generals and civilians alike in calling for his scalp."

Link: Donald Rumsfeld's Dance With the Nazis - New York Times

Posted September 4, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

(Brio Technology, Palo Alto, CA) A software company founded in 1989 that specialized in enterprise analysis and reporting programs for several platforms. Acquired by Hyperion Solutions Corporation in 2003, Hyperion was acquired by Oracle in 2007, and products were renamed with the Oracle Hyperion brand.

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noun

A lively, emphatic, eager quality or manner: animation, bounce, dash, élan, esprit, life, liveliness, pertness, sparkle, spirit, verve, vigor, vim, vivaciousness, vivacity, zip. Informal ginger, pep, peppiness. Slang oomph. See action/inaction.

Definition: vigor
Antonyms: lethargy