Definition of "brawny"

As he stood on one side, for a minute or so, unbuttoning his waist-coat and breeches, her fat, brawny thighs hung down

1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […]

Once the pressure of the comparatively low-drivered J's was raised to 300 pounds, they ranked as the brawniest of 4-8-4's with a tractive force of 80,000 pounds.

1959, David P. Morgan, editor, Steam's Finest Hour, Kalmbach Publishing Co., page 68