English edit

Etymology edit

brain +‎ work

Noun edit

brainwork (uncountable)

  1. Work done with the brain; mental effort.
    • 1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm [], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLC:
      [1]
      But not more comfortable than we need, I can tell you, comrades, with all the brainwork we have to do nowadays.
    • 2007 March 21, Will Shortz, “A Rush of Excitement, From Filling in Empty Spaces to Completing a Large Loop”, in New York Times[2]:
      Its rules are so simple they can be explained in two sentences, yet the brainwork needed to solve it is quite complex.

Translations edit