breeze
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
From Middle English brese, from Old English brēosa, variant of Old English brimsa (“gadfly”), from Proto-Germanic *bremusī (“gadfly”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerem- (“to make a noise, buzz, hum”). Cognate with Eastern Frisian brims (“gadfly”), Dutch brems (“horsefly, warblefly”), German Bremse (“gadfly, horsefly”), Danish bremse (“gadfly, horsefly”), Swedish broms (“gadfly, horsefly”). Related also to Middle English brimse (“gadfly”), Old English bremman (“to rage, roar”), Latin fremō (“roar, snort, growl, grumble”). See also bream.
Alternative forms
- breese
Noun
breeze (plural breezes)
Verb
breeze (third-person singular simple present breezes, present participle breezing, simple past and past participle breezed)
- (intransitive) To buzz.
Etymology 2
1555, nautical term brise (“breeze”), from Dutch bries (“breeze”), from Eastern Frisian brîse (“breeze”), from brisen (“to blow fresh and strong”). Formally related to Albanian breshër (“hail”).
Alternative forms
- brize (obsolete)
- briess (obsolete)
Noun
breeze (plural breezes)
- (meteorology) A gentle to moderate wind.
- The breeze rustled the papers on her desk.
- 1907, Robert Chambers, chapter 5, The Younger Set[1]:
- Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume ; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of rose-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees ; … .
- Any activity that is easy, not testing or difficult.
- After studying Latin, Spanish was a breeze.
- (cricket) Wind blowing across a cricket match, whatever its strength.
- Ashes and residue of coal or charcoal, usually from a furnace. See Wikipedia article on Clinker.
Coordinate terms
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations
|
|
See also
Verb
breeze (third-person singular simple present breezes, present participle breezing, simple past and past participle breezed)
- (usually with along) To move casually, in a carefree manner.
- (weather) To blow gently.
- To take a horse under a light run in order to understand the running characteristics of the horse and to observe it while under motion.
Translations
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
|