brú

See also: bru, brŭ, BRU, and brù

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse brú, from Proto-Germanic *brōwō, *brūwō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pruː/
• Rhymes: -uː

Noun

brú f (genitive singular brúar, nominative plural brýr)

1. bridge

Declension

Declension of brú (feminine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	brú	brúin	brýr	brýrnar
accusative	brú	brúna	brýr	brýrnar
dative	brú	brúnni	brúm	brúnum
genitive	brúar	brúarinnar	brúa	brúnna

Derived terms

• göngubrú (“footbridge”)

Anagrams

• búr

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bˠɾˠuː/

Etymology 1

Related to bruíon and Middle Irish bruiden (“hostel, large banqueting hall”).

Noun

brú m (genitive singular brú, nominative plural brúnna)

1. hostel

Declension

Declension of brú (fourth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative brú brúnna vocative a bhrú a bhrúnna genitive brú brúnna dative brú brúnna forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an brú na brúnna genitive an bhrú na mbrúnna dative leis an mbrú don bhrú leis na brúnna

Derived terms

• brú óige
• brúdóireacht

Etymology 2

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

Noun

brú m (genitive singular as substantive brú, genitive as verbal noun brúite, nominative plural brúnna)

1. verbal noun of brúigh
2. press, crush
3. pressure
4. bruise (mark on fruit)
5. dent

Declension

As verbal noun

Declension of brú (third declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative brú brúnna vocative a bhrú a bhrúnna genitive brúite brúnna dative brú brúnna forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an brú na brúnna genitive an bhrúite na mbrúnna dative leis an mbrú don bhrú leis na brúnna

As substantive

Declension of brú (fourth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative brú brúnna vocative a bhrú a bhrúnna genitive brú brúnna dative brú brúnna forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an brú na brúnna genitive an bhrú na mbrúnna dative leis an mbrú don bhrú leis na brúnna

Alternative forms

• brúghadh (obsolete)

Derived terms

• frithbhrú (“back-pressure”)

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

brú

1. present subjunctive analytic of brúigh

Alternative forms

• brúgha (obsolete)

Etymology 4

From Old Irish brú, bruig, from Proto-Celtic *mrogis.

Noun

brú f (genitive singular brú, nominative plural brúnna)

1. brink, verge

   Ar bhrú éaga. ― On the verge of death.

2. bank (of river)

Declension

Declension of brú (fourth declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative brú brúnna vocative a bhrú a bhrúnna genitive brú brúnna dative brú brúnna forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an bhrú na brúnna genitive na brú na mbrúnna dative leis an mbrú don bhrú leis na brúnna

Mutation

Mutated forms of brú

radical	lenition	eclipsis
brú	bhrú	mbrú

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect] (in German), Zweiter Band: Wörterbuch [Second volume: Dictionary], Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 52
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “brú”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Old Irish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *brusū.

Noun

brú f

1. belly, abdomen
2. breast
3. womb

Inflection

Feminine n-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	brú	broinnL	broinn
vocative	brú	broinnL	bronnaH
accusative	broinnN	broinnL	bronnaH
genitive	bronn	bronnL	bronnN
dative	broinnL, brúL	bronnaib	bronnaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Middle Irish: broinn
  • Irish: broinn

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “brú 1 ‘abdomen’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Etymology 2

From Proto-Celtic *mrogis.

Noun

brú ?

2. edge, brink
3. bank

Inflection

The dative singular is also brú; no other forms are attested.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “brú 3 ‘edge’”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Mutation

Mutation of brú

radical	lenition	nasalization
brú	brú pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/	mbrú

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• brō — Old East Norse

Etymology

from Proto-Germanic *brōwō, *brūwō.

Noun

brú f

1. bridge

Descendants

• Icelandic: brú
• Faroese: brú
• Norwegian Nynorsk: bru
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bru (See there for further information)