More on Italian briga, brigare, and brigante

To complicate things, my It. etym. dictionary (by M. Cortelazzo and
P. Zolli) questions the derivation of the verb brigare and of its
substantived participle, brigante, from the term briga, although in
this work, too, the latter is considered a probable loan from Celtic
bri:go- 'strength' as says Watkins.

Cortelazzo and Zolli think as follows:

1. It. BRIGA may have originally meant 'strength, vigour' (it is
used with this meaning by Dante). The semantic development
into 'strife, quarrel, controversy' would have occurred later, and
still later would that into 'nuisance, harassment, difficult
problem'. If this is the case, it is not necessary to postulate, as
does Watkins, a Proto-Celtic lemma *bri:ga:- 'strife' to accout for
It. briga 'strife etc.' Indeed, Cortelazzo and Zolli think Pr.Celt.
bri:go- 'strength' is the direct source of It. briga.

2. It. BRIGARE has as its original meaning 'to deal, to intrigue
(secret plans) to obtain something' (in Dante, 'to struggle to do
one's best'); to frequent (someone), to meet in small groups'. In
Old Italian texts, a tenuous link with the meaning 'to fight' is,
thus, only found in Dante, who also uses the noun briga with the
meaning 'strength'.

3. It. BRIGANTE has as its original meaning -- in early authors such
as G. Boccaccio and G. Villani -- 'good companion, man-about-town'.
Thus, a positive meaning. This is a semantic development from the
meaning 'to deal, to meet in small groups' of the verb brigare. The
negative meaning of the term brigante ('one who behaves badly', then
just 'a brigand') would have evolved later.

In sum, a brigante would not be 'one who fights' (= a member of a
confraternite of mercenaries)! At least, not plainly, i.e. with no
break in the chain of semantic transmission, from a supposedly
Celtic-derived Vulgar Latin term briga meaning 'strife'!

Sigh! I hope someone's gonna make up something of all this...

Francesco