bring

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɹɪŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪŋ

Etymology 1

From Middle English bryngen, from Old English bringan, from Proto-West Germanic *bringan, from Proto-Germanic *bringaną (“to bring”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenk-, possibly based on *bʰer-.

Compare West Frisian bringe, Low German bringen, Dutch brengen, German bringen; also Welsh hebrwng (“to bring, lead”), Tocharian B pränk- (“to take away; restrain oneself, hold back”), Latvian brankti (“lying close”), Lithuanian branktas (“whiffletree”).

Verb

bring (third-person singular simple present brings, present participle bringing, simple past brought, past participle brought or (rare, dialectal) broughten)

1. (transitive, ditransitive) To transport toward somebody/somewhere.

   Waiter, please bring me a single malt whiskey.

   • a1420, The British Museum Additional MS, 12,056, “Wounds complicated by the Dislocation of a Bone”, in Robert von Fleischhacker, editor, Lanfranc's "Science of cirurgie.", London: K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co, translation of original by Lanfranc of Milan, published 1894, →ISBN, page 63:

     Ne take noon hede to brynge togidere þe parties of þe boon þat is to-broken or dislocate, til viij. daies ben goon in þe wyntir, & v. in þe somer; for þanne it schal make quytture, and be sikir from swellynge; & þanne brynge togidere þe brynkis eiþer þe disiuncture after þe techynge þat schal be seid in þe chapitle of algebra.

   • 1892, Walter Besant, chapter II, in The Ivory Gate , New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, , →OCLC:

     At twilight in the summer […] the mice come out. They […] eat the luncheon crumbs. Mr. Checkly, for instance, always brought his dinner in a paper parcel in his coat-tail pocket, and ate it when so disposed, sprinkling crumbs lavishly […] on the floor.

   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 5, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     A waiter brought his aperitif, which was a small scotch and soda, and as he sipped it gratefully he sighed. ¶ ‘Civilized,’ he said to Mr. Campion. ‘Humanizing.’ […] ‘Cigars and summer days and women in big hats with swansdown face-powder, that's what it reminds me of.’

   • 2012 August 21, Ed Pilkington, “Death penalty on trial: should Reggie Clemons live or die?”, in The Guardian:

     Next month, Clemons will be brought before a court presided over by a "special master", who will review the case one last time.

2. (transitive, figuratively) To supply or contribute.

   The new company director brought a fresh perspective on sales and marketing.

   • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:

     “ […] it is not fair of you to bring against mankind double weapons ! Dangerous enough you are as woman alone, without bringing to your aid those gifts of mind suited to problems which men have been accustomed to arrogate to themselves.”

3. (transitive) To occasion or bring about.

   The controversial TV broadcast brought a storm of complaints.

4. (transitive) To raise (a lawsuit, charges, etc.) against somebody.
   • 2013 August 10, “Can China clean up fast enough?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:

     It has jailed environmental activists and is planning to limit the power of judicial oversight by handing a state-approved body a monopoly over bringing environmental lawsuits.

5. To persuade; to induce; to draw; to lead; to guide.
   • 1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 2, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. , London: Eliz Holt, for Thomas Basset, , →OCLC, book I, page 11:

     It seems so preposterous a thing […] that they do not easily bring themselves to it.

6. To produce in exchange; to sell for; to fetch.

   What does coal bring per ton?

7. (baseball) To pitch, often referring to a particularly hard thrown fastball.

   The closer Jones can really bring it.

Conjugation

• Past brang and past participle brung and broughten forms are sometimes used in some dialects, especially in informal speech.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeia.

Interjection

bring

1. The sound of a telephone ringing.

Afrikaans

Alternative forms

• breng (archaic)

Etymology

From Dutch bringen, a dialectal variant of standard brengen (“to bring”). Both forms were originally distinct, though related, verbs, but were early on conflated.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /brəŋ/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

bring (present bring, present participle bringende, past participle gebring)

1. (transitive) to bring; to deliver
2. (transitive) to take; to lead (to another place)

   Bring asseblief hierdie borde kombuis toe.

   Please, take these dishes to the kitchen.

Derived terms

• uitbring
• wegbring

Danish

Verb

bring

1. imperative of bringe

Garo

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

bring

1. jungle, forest

German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

bring

1. imperative singular of bringen

Middle English

Verb

bring

1. Alternative form of bryngen

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian bringa, which derives from Proto-West Germanic *bringan. Cognates include West Frisian bringe.

Verb

bring

1. (Föhr-Amrum), (Heligoland) to bring

Conjugation

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

bring

1. imperative of bringe

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English bryngen, from Old English bringan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /brɪŋ/

Verb

bring (third-person singular simple present brings, present participle bringin, simple past brocht, past participle brocht)

1. To bring.