'bracelet' originates from Old French, specifically the word 'bracelet', where 'brace' (from Old French 'bracier') meant 'arm'.

'bracelet' changed from Old French 'bracelet' (a diminutive of 'brace') ultimately from Latin 'brachium'/'bracchium' meaning 'arm', and was adopted into Middle English as 'bracelet' to refer to a small arm ornament.

Initially, it referred to a small object for the arm ('little arm' / small arm ornament), and over time it came to mean specifically an ornamental band worn around the wrist.