brig
/bɹɪɡ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.32 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on both foremast and mainmast.
noun
A jail or guardhouse, especially in a naval military prison or jail on a ship, navy base, or (in fiction) spacecraft.
American usage
noun
noun
name
A district in Valais canton, Switzerland.
name
A town in Brig-Glis municipality, Valais canton, Switzerland.
Example Sentences
- "Dorey harbour is in a fine bay, at one extremity of which an elevated point juts out, and, with two or three small islands, forms a sheltered anchorage. The only vessel it contained when we arrived was a Dutch brig, laden with coals for the use of a war-steamer, which was expected daily, on an exploring expedition along the coasts of New Guinea, for the purpose of fixing on a locality for a colony."
- "Now do thy speedy utmost, Meg, / And win the key-stane of the brig;"
Etymology
Abbreviated from brigantine, from Italian brigantino; in sense “jail”, from the use of such ships as prisons.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: brigantino, brig, bryggja, *brugjǭ
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Military, Botany, Medicine.
Inflected Forms
brigs (plural)
brigs (present, singular)
brigging (participle, present)
brigged (participle, past)
brigged (past)