brow

English

Etymology

Middle English browe, from Old English brū, from Proto-Germanic *brūwō, from Proto-Indo-European *bhreu 'brow', *h₃bʰrúHs (cf. Middle Irish brúad, Tocharian B pärwāne ‘eyebrows’, Lithuanian bruvìs, Ancient Greek ὀφρύς (ophrus), Sanskrit भ्रू (bhrū)).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• IPA: /braʊ/
• Rhymes: -aʊ

Noun

brow (plural brows)

1. The ridge over the eyes; the eyebrow (Wikipedia).
2. The first tine of an antler's beam.
3. The forehead (Wikipedia).
   • 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 5, Lord Stranleigh Abroad^[1]:

     Mr. Banks’ panama hat was in one hand, while the other drew a handkerchief across his perspiring brow.

4. The projecting upper edge of a steep place such as a hill.
5. (nautical) The gangway from ship to shore when a ship is lying alongside a quay.
6. (nautical) The hinged part of a landing craft or ferry which is lowered to form a landing platform; a ramp.

Translations

the ridge over the eyes; the eyebrow

• Bulgarian: вежда (bg) (vežda) f
• Czech: obočí (cs) n
• Dalmatian: čeja f
• Finnish: silmäkulma (fi), kulma (fi) (ridge); kulmakarvat (fi) pl (hair)
• German: Braue (de) f, Augenbraue (de) f

• Irish: mala (ga) f
• Italian: sopracciglio (it) m
• Romanian: arcadă (ro) f
• Russian: бровь (ru) (brovʹ) f
• Serbian: obrva, veđa

forehead

• Bulgarian: чело (bg) (čelo) n
• Czech: čelo (cs) n
• Finnish: otsa (fi)
• French: front (fr)
• German: Stirn (de) f
• Italian: fronte (it) f

• Lojban: mebri (jbo)
• Old Church Slavonic: чєло (čelo) n
• Russian: лоб (ru) (lob) m
• Scottish Gaelic: bathais (gd) f
• Spanish: frente (es)
• Swedish: panna (sv)

the projecting upper edge of a steep place such as a hill

• Bulgarian: надвиснала скала (bg) (nadvisnala skala)
• Finnish: reuna (fi), kieleke (fi)

• Italian: ciglio (it) m, orlo (it) m, cima (it) f
• Maori: taumata (mi)

the gangway from ship to shore when a ship is lying alongside a quay

• Bulgarian: трап (bg) (trap) m
• Finnish: laskusilta (fi)

• Italian: passerella da sbarco (it)
• Russian: трап (ru) (trap) m

the hinged part of a landing craft or ferry which is lowered to form a landing platform; a ramp

• Finnish: ramppi (fi)

• Italian: passerella da sbarco (it)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: sourcil
• Ido: brovo

• Romanian: arcada, frunte

Derived terms

• beetle-browed
• eyebrow

Synonyms

• forehead

Verb

brow (third-person singular simple present brows, present participle browing, simple past and past participle browed)

1. To bound or limit; to be at, or form, the edge of.
   • Milton

     Tending my flocks hard by i' the hilly crofts / That brow this bottom glade.