brogue

WOTD - 20 December 2006    

English

A pair of brogues

Pronunciation

• enPR: brōg, IPA: /brəʊɡ/, SAMPA: /br@Ug/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

  Rhymes: -əʊɡ

Etymology 1

From Irish bróg (“boot, shoe”). The "accent" sense may instead be derived from Old Irish barrog (“a hold (on the tongue)”).

Noun

brogue (plural brogues)

1. A strong dialectal accent. In Ireland it used to be a term for Irish spoken with a strong English accent, but gradually changed to mean English spoken with a strong Irish accent as English control of Ireland gradually increased and Irish waned as the standard language.
2. A strong Oxford shoe, with ornamental perforations and wing tips.
3. (dated) A heavy shoe of untanned leather.

Synonyms

• (dated heavy shoe): brogan

Derived terms

• brogued
• brogueing
• broguery

Translations

brogue

Finnish: murre (fi)

Verb

brogue (third-person singular simple present brogues, present participle broguing, simple past and past participle brogued)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To speak with a brogue (accent).
2. (intransitive) To walk.
3. (transitive) To kick.
4. (transitive) To punch a hole in, as with an awl.

See also

• Brogue on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Brogue shoe on Wikipedia.Wikipedia:Brogue shoe

Etymology 2

Possibly from French brouiller

Verb

brogue (third-person singular simple present brogues, present participle broguing, simple past and past participle brogued)

1. (dialect) to fish for eels by disturbing the waters