brian

See also: Brian

English

Etymology

From dialectal English, probably variant of brine (“to burn”), from brine (“a burning”), from Middle English brüne (“a burn, a burning”), from Old English bryne (“a burning, conflagration, fire, flame, heat, inflammation, burn, scald, torch, fervor, passion”), from Proto-Germanic *bruniz (“fire, burning”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenu- (“burn, fire”). Cognate with Scots brin (“a flash”), Scots brin, bryne (“to be on fire, be inflamed, burn”), Old Norse bruni (“fire, burning”). More at burn.

Pronunciation

Audio (US): (file)

Verb

brian (third-person singular simple present brians, present participle brianing, simple past and past participle brianed)

(dialectal, Northern England) To keep fire at the mouth of (as of an oven), to give light or to preserve heat.

Related terms

Anagrams

Barin, Brain, Rabin, abrin, bairn, brain

Yola

Noun

brian

Alternative form of bryne (“brain”)

References

Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 28