brillig

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Alternative spellings 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Etymology 1.4 Adjective 1.4.1 Translations 1.5 See also 2 German 2.1 Adjective

[edit] English

[edit] Alternative spellings

• bryllyg

[edit] Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɹɪ.lɪɡ/
• enPR: brĭʹlĭg
• Hyphenation: BRI(L)-lig

[edit] Etymology

Supposedly from bryl or broil

[edit] Adjective

brillig (comparative more brillig, superlative most brillig)

1. A nonce word in Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky, explained by Humpty Dumpty as "four o'clock in the afternoon — the time when you begin broiling things for dinner."

   'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe — Lewis Carroll, Jabberwocky.

[edit] Translations

• French: Il brilgue

  Note: "Il brilgue" translates the whole phrase "'Twas brillig". The French version of the poem is in the present tense rather than the past. "'Twas brillig" is therefore translated as if it were "'Tis brillig". This has not been translated as il est followed by an adjective; instead, a verb "brilguer" has been invented with the meaning "to be brillig". "Il brilgue" then corresponds to "'tis brillig", and therefore stands for the whole phrase "'Twas brillig" in the poem.

• German: brillig de(de)

[edit] See also

• Wikipedia article on Jabberwocky

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[edit] German

[edit] Adjective

brillig

1. brillig

   Es brillig war - 'Twas brillig