See also: brille and brillé

German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German brille, berille, from berillus (beryl), from Latin beryllus (beryl). Compare dialectal English brills (spectacles).

Meaning 3 ("toilet seat") is derived in analogy with the usually round shape of spectacle frames surrounding the glass.

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Could someone please explain how we get from "spectacles" to "toilet seat"? That seems like a rather bizarre jump in meaning.”

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈbʁɪlə/
  • Audio (Austria):(file)
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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Brille f (genitive Brille, plural Brillen)

  1. (pair of) glasses, spectacles (frames bearing two lenses worn in front of the eyes to correct vision)
    • 1919, Walther Kabel, Irrende Seelen, Werner Dietsch Verlag, page 42:
      In einer Seitenstraße kaufte ich mir bei einem Optiker eine billige, blaue Brille und setzte sie sofort auf.
      In a side street, I bought a cheap, blue pair of glasses at an optician and immediately put them on.
  2. (pair of) goggles (protective eyewear set in a flexible frame to fit snugly against the face)
  3. toilet seat (hinged, contoured seat with a hole in the middle, of a toilet)
  4. (medicine) nasal cannula for oxygen (clear plastic tubes for the delivery of oxygen to the nose)

Declension

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Czech: brýle
  • Danish: briller (pl.)
  • Kashubian: brële
  • Lower Sorbian: bryla
  • Polish: bryle
  • Swedish: brillor (pl.)

Further reading

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Pennsylvania German

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Noun

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Brille

  1. plural of Brill