Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The young of herring and similar fish.
- n. Minute marine organisms, such as crustaceans of the genus Calanus, that are a major source of food for right whales.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To break in pieces; divide.
- To bruise; indent.
- To fall out or shatter, as overripe hops or grain.
- To fade away; alter.
- n. A young herring of the common kind, occurring in large shoals, and formerly classed as a separate species, Clupea minima.
- n. A general name for animals upon which whales feed, as Clio borealis, etc.; whale-brit.
- n. An abbreviation of British and Britain.
Wiktionary
- n. the young of herrings, sprats etc
- n. tiny crustaceans, of the genus Calanus, that form a major part of the diet of right whales
- n. brit milah
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The young of the common herring; also, a small species of herring; the sprat.
- n. The minute marine animals (chiefly Entomostraca) upon which the right whales feed.
WordNet 3.0
- n. minute crustaceans forming food for right whales
- n. a native or inhabitant of Great Britain
- n. the young of a herring or sprat or similar fish
Etymologies
- Perhaps from Cornish brȳthel, mackerel (from Old Cornish breithil, from *breith, speckled) or from Welsh brithyll, trout (from brith, speckled).
Examples
“The other wrong answer: if you were a book, who would most likely read you? students in brit lit I (middle english to 1600)”
“Adler also regards this marriage ceremony, called brit ha-ahuvim (covenant of the loved ones), as appropriate for both heterosexual and same-sex couples.”
“In the Propontis, as far as I can learn, none of that peculiar substance called brit is to be found, the aliment of the right whale.”
“In the Propontis, as far as I can learn, none of that peculiar substance called brit is to be found, the aliment of the Right Whale.”
“One of those is a commandment called brit milah, which translates as covenant of…”
“There is a comment in this blog about the pompous 'brit'; he is incredible...very knowledgeable about food and was able to describe the taste exactly.”
“As a brit, I have no idea what a binder clip or a butterfly Clip is!”
“Sure there are fringe groups of Jews that have always been against brit milah, but 99% of Jews, religious and secular, follow this ancient ritual without question.”
The Huffington Post: Rabbi Joshua Levine Grater: The Torah, The Constitution, And The 4th Of July
“As far as I know it's brit-com, but not stiff upper lip-ish ...”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘brit’.
ruzuzu Also see brite. Jan 26, 2012
yarb In the Propontis, as far as I can learn, none of that peculiar substance called brit is to be found, the aliment of the right whale.
- Melville, Moby-Dick, ch. 45 Jul 24, 2008