Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
brian. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
brian, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
brian in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
brian you have here. The definition of the word
brian will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
brian, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology
From dialectal English, probably variant of brine (“to burn”), from brine (“a burning”), from Middle English brüne (“a burn, a burning”), from Old English bryne (“a burning, conflagration, fire, flame, heat, inflammation, burn, scald, torch, fervor, passion”), from Proto-Germanic *bruniz (“fire, burning”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenu- (“burn, fire”). Cognate with Scots brin (“a flash”), Scots brin, bryne (“to be on fire, be inflamed, burn”), Old Norse bruni (“fire, burning”). More at burn.
Pronunciation
Verb
brian (third-person singular simple present brians, present participle brianing, simple past and past participle brianed)
- (dialectal, Northern England) To keep fire at the mouth of (as of an oven), to give light or to preserve heat.
Anagrams
Yola
Noun
brian
- Alternative form of bryne (“brain”)
References
- Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 28