brain

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Archived revision by Hippietrail (talk | contribs) as of 10:43, 25 December 2019.
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Brain

English

Lua error in Module:interproject at line 62: Parameter "dab" is not used by this template.

A human brain

Etymology

From Middle English brayn, brain, from Old English bræġn (“brain”), from Proto-Germanic *bragną (“brain”), from Proto-Indo-European *mregʰnom (“skull, brain”), from Proto-Indo-European *mregʰ- (“marrow, sinciput”) + *men- (“mind, to think”). Cognate with Scots braine, brane (“brain”), North Frisian brayen, brein (“brain”), Saterland Frisian Brainge (“brain”), West Frisian brein (“brain”), Dutch brein (“brain”), Low German Brägen, Bregen (“brain”) (whence German Bregen (“animal brain”)), Ancient Greek βρεχμός (brekhmós, “front part of the skull, top of the head”).

Pronunciation

Noun

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

brain (plural brains)

  1. The control center of the central nervous system of an animal located in the skull which is responsible for perception, cognition, attention, memory, emotion, and action.
    • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
      Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
  2. (informal) An intelligent person.
    She was a total brain.
    1. (plural only) A person who provides the intelligence required for something.
      He is the brains behind the scheme.
  3. (in the plural) Intellect.
    • 2008 Quaker Action (magazine) Rights trampled in rush to deport immigrant workers, Fall 2008, Vol. 89, No. 3, p. 8:
      "We provided a lot of brains and a lot of heart to the response when it was needed," says Sandra Sanchez, director of AFSC's Immigrants' Voice Program in Des Moines.
    She has a lot of brains.
    1. (in the singular) An intellectual or mental capacity.
      Gerald always acts like he doesn't have a brain.
  4. By analogy with a human brain, the part of a machine or computer that performs calculations.
    The computer's brain is capable of millions of calculations a second.
  5. (slang, vulgar) Oral sex.
    • 2012, Mack Maine featuring Turk and Mystikal, I'm On It
      You said I got brain from your dame in the range
      In the passing lane
      But you really ain't got no proof
  6. (informal, slang) Mind.
    I have too much on my brain today.

Synonyms

Derived terms

terms derived from brain (noun)

Template:rel-mid4

Template:rel-mid4

Template:rel-mid4

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also

Verb

brain (third-person singular simple present brains, present participle braining, simple past and past participle brained)

  1. (transitive) To dash out the brains of; to kill by smashing the skull.
  2. (transitive, slang) To strike (someone) on the head.
  3. (transitive, figurative) To destroy; to put an end to.
    • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      There thou mayst brain him.
    • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      It was the swift celerity of the death […] That brained my purpose.
  4. (transitive, obsolete) To conceive in the mind; to understand.
    • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)
      'Tis still a dream, or else such stuff as madmen / Tongue, and brain not.

Quotations

Translations

Anagrams

Irish

Noun

brain m

  1. inflection of bran:
    1. vocative/genitive singular
    2. nominative/dative plural

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
brain bhrain mbrain
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Middle English

Noun

brain

  1. Alternative form of brayn

Old Irish

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

brain m

  1. vocative singular of bran
  2. genitive singular of bran
  3. nominative plural of bran

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Nasalization
brain brain
pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/ 		mbrain
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Welsh

Pronunciation

Noun

brain m pl

  1. plural of brân

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
brain frain mrain unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=brain&oldid=58228574"