British 
of the ancient Britons, represented by the mod- 
ern Welsh and Cornish. 
Britisher (brit'ish-er), n. A British subject or 
citizen in any part of the world, but more par- 
ticularly a native or an inhabitant of Great 
Britain, especially of England. [Now chiefly 
colloquial or humorous.] 
Briton (brit'pn), . and a. [< ME. Britnn, Bru- 
tun, etc., < OF. Breton, a Briton, usually a Bre- 
ton or native of Brittany in France, < ML. Bri- 
to(n-), pi. Britones, L. Britanni, Britons: see 
British.} I. n. A native of Great Britain; es- 
pecially, one of the original Celtic inhabitants 
of the island of Britain. 
II. a. British. [Bare.] 
A Briton peasant. Shak., Cymbeline, v. 1. 
britska (brits'ka), n. [Also written britsska 
and, more prop., "britchka; <Pol. bryczka Buss. 
briehka, dim. of Pol. bri/ka, a freight-wagon, = 
Buss, brikii, a sort of light carriage.] In Bus- 
sia, a light, partly covered four-wheeled car- 
riage. The Polish britska, also used in Russia, has a 
pole, a body of wickerwork, and a leather top. 
britt 1 , britt 2 . See brit\ britf. 
brittent (brit'n), v. t. [E. dial., < ME. brit- 
tenen, britnen, bryttenen, bruttenen, brutnen, bret- 
nen, divide, break up, cut to pieces, < AS. bryt- 
nian, divide, distribute, dispense (of. Icel. brot- 
na, be broken), < breotan (pp. *broten), break: 
see feri* 1 .] To break up ; cut to pieces ; cut up ; 
carve. 
Thus schall I brittvn all youre bones on brede. 
York Plays, p. 292. 
britterworts (brit'er-werts), re. pi. The Diato- 
maceai. 
brittle (brit'l), a. [< ME. britel, brutel, brotel, 
etc., < AS. as if *brytcl, with suffix -el forming 
adjectives from verbs, < breotan (pret. bredt. pi. 
*bruton, pp. *broten), break: see brift and brit- 
ten. Cf . brickie, an equiv. word of different ori- 
gin.] If. Fickle; changeable. 
How brotel and how false he was. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 2555. 
2. Breaking easily and suddenly with a com- 
paratively smooth fracture, as glass ; fragile ; 
not tough or tenacious. 
Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, . . . becomes brittle 
at temperatures approaching to redness, but while cold it 
possesses considerable malleability. 
W. A. Miller, Elem. of Chem., 519. 
3. Figuratively, easily destroyed; perishable; 
fleeting. 
One woful day sweeps children, friends and wife, 
And all the brittle blessings of my life ! 
Dryden, tr. of Lucretius, iii. 85. 
Brittle silver ore. Same as stephanite. 
brittleness (brit'1-nesX n. [< ME. brittilnesse, 
brutelnes, etc.] If. Instability; changeable- 
ness. 
The see may ebbe and flowe more and lesse, 
The welken hath might to shyne, reyne and hayle : 
Right so mote I kythe my brotelnesse. 
Chaucer, Fortune, 1. 63. 
2. The property of breaking readily with a 
comparatively smooth fracture; frangibility : 
the opposite of toughness and tenacity. 
A rod of good steel, in its hardest state, is broken al- 
most as easily as a rod of glass of the same size, and this 
brittleness can only be diminished by diminishing its hard- 
ness. G. Ede, in Campin's Mech. Engineering, p. 360. 
brittle-Star (brit'1-star), n. A name of sundry 
sand-stars, or ophiurians, from their fragility. 
See cuts under Astrnphyton and Ophiolepis. 
britzska, n. See britska. 
Briza (bri'za), re. [NL., < Gr. ftpi&tv, nod (cf. 
the common name quaking-grass). The form 
seems to have been suggested by Gr. /)p%a, a 
grain like rye, in Thrace and Macedonia still 
so called. Cf. w<olic ftpiatia, for pi^a, root.] A 
genus of grasses, commonly called quaking- 
grass, maidenhair-grass, or lady's-hair. There are 
ten species, mostly natives of Europe and the Mediterra- 
nean region, of little agricultural importance. Some of 
them are cultivated for ornament on account of their 
gracefully nodding spikes. 
brizeM, An obsolete form of breeze 1 . 
brize 2 t, An obsolete form of breeze^. 
brize 3 , n. See brine 3 . 
briz6 (bre-za'), a. Same as brise. 
brizure (briz'ur), re. Same as brisure, 1. 
bro. An abbreviation of brother; pi. bros. : as, 
Smith Bros. & Co. 
broach (broch), n. [Also, in sense of an orna- 
mental pin, spelled brooch (see brooch 1 ) ; early 
mod. E. broche, < ME. broche, a pin, peg, spit, 
spear-point, taper, < OF. broche, F. broche, a 
spit, brooch, etc., = Pr. broca = Sp. Pg. broca, 
an awl, drill, spool, etc., = It. brocca, a split 
stick (with masculine forms, OF. and F. dial. 
688 
broc, a spit, = It. brocco, a sharp stake, a sprout, 
etc.), < ML. broca, brocca, a spit, a sharp stake, 
any sharp-pointed thing; cf. L. brochns^ broc- 
chus, brocus, projecting (of the teeth of animals: 
see brochate); prob. of Celtic origin: cf. W. 
procio, stab, prick (> E. prog); Gael, brog, a 
shoemakers' awl, < brog, spur, stimulate, goad 
(> E. bragi).] If. A spit. 
Thre balefulle birdez his brochez they turne. 
Morte Arthure, 1. 1029. 
And some failed not to take the child and bind it to a 
broach, and lay it to the fire to roast. 
Sir T. More, Works, p. 259. 
He turned a broach, that had worn a crown. 
Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII. 
2f. A spear. 
That fruit was of a mayden born 
On a theoues tre is al totorn 
A broche thorwout his brest [bor]n. 
Legends of the Holy Rood (ed. Morris), p. 133. 
3. An awl; a bodkin. [Prov. Eng.] 4. A 
spike; a skewer; a sharp stick; specifically, a 
rod of sallow, hazel, or other tough and pliant 
wood, sharpened at each end and bent in the 
middle, used by thatchers to pierce and fix their 
work. [Prov. Eng.] 
Broche for a thacstare [thaxter, thatcher], nrmaculum. 
Prompt. Pan., p. 52. 
5f. A spur. 6f. A fish-hook. Prompt. Parv. 
7f. A spike or standard for a candle. 
A broche with a fote, ij new torches. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 327. 
8f. A taper ; a torch. 
Hewe fuyr of a flynt four hundred wynter ; 
Bote thou haue tache to take hit with tunder and broches, 
Al thy labour is lost. Piers Ploimum (C), xx. 211. 
9. A spindle ; a spool. [Scotch.] 
Broche of threde, vericulum. Prompt. Pan., p. 52. 
10. In arch., formerly, a spire of any kind ; now, 
specifically, as used in some parts of England 
and by some 
writers on arch- 
itecture, a spire 
which rises di- 
rectly from the 
walls of its tow- 
er, without par- 
apets and gut- 
ters. 11. A 
narrow - point- 
ed chisel used 
by masons for 
hewing stones. 
12. Any ta- 
pered boring- 
bit or drill. 
Broaches used for 
boring wood are 
fluted like the shell- 
bit, but tapered to- 
ward the point ; 
but those used in 
boring metal are 
solid, and usually 
three-, four-, or six- 
sided. Their com- 
mon forms are 
shown in the 
annexed figures. 
Broaches are also 
known as wideners 
and reamers. 
Broaches. 
A, southwest tower, Cathedral of Bayeux, 
Normandy ; B, Church of St. Nicholas. Wai- 
cot, England. 
13. A straight steel tool with file-teeth for 
pressing through irregular holes in metal that 
cannot be dressed by revolv- 
ing tools. 14. That part of 
the stem of a key which 
projects beyond the bit or 
web, and enters a socket in 
the interior of the lock. 15. 
That pin in a lock which en- 
ters the barrel of the key. 
E. H. Knight. 16. The stick 
from which candle-wicks are 
suspended for dipping. 1 7. 
A gimlet used in opening 
casks for sampling their con- 
* is an example , A r m.. j 
iches or reamers tents. 18. A fitting for an 
S r o 5 efor'm a e ai.' iB - * of Argand gas-burner. 19. A 
start, like the end of a spit, 
on the head of a young stag. 20. A pin or clasp 
to fasten a garment; specifically, an ornamen- 
tal pin, clasp, or buckle, and especially a breast- 
pin, of gold, silver, or other metal, attached to 
the dress or depending from the neck : in this 
sense now usually spelled brooch (which see), 
broach (broch\ r. t. [< ME. brochen, bore, spur, 
spit, tap (in this sense cf. the phrase setten on 
broche, set abroach, after F. mettre en broche: 
see abroach), < OF. brocher, spur, spit, etc., F. 
brocher, stitch, figure, emboss (= Pr. brocar = 
Pg. brocar, bore, = It. broccare, urge, incite. 
Broaches for Boring. 
Fig. a is an example 
of fir 
broad 
etc.), < brocite, etc., spit: see broach, n. Cf. 
brocade, brochure, etc.] If. To spit; pierce as 
with a spit. 
The Erie that knew & wyst moche of the chasse bracked 
the bore thrughe the brest. 
Horn, of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), p. 235, note. 
I'll broach the tadpole on my rapier's point. 
Shak., Tit. And., iv. 2. 
2f. To spur. 
Broche^ the baye stede, and to the buske rydej. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 918. 
3. In masonry, to rough-hew. [North. Eng. 
and Scotch.] 4. To open for the first time 
for the purpose of taking out something; more 
especially, to tap or pierce, as a cask in order 
to draw the liquor : as, to broach a hogshead. 
Descending into the cellars, they broached every cask 
they found there. Motley, Dutch Republic, I. 564. 
Hence, figuratively 5. To open, as the mouth 
for utterance. 
Desiring Virtue might be her first growth, 
And Hallelujah broach her holy mouth. 
J. Beaumont, Psyche, i. 68. 
6. To let out ; shed. 
This blow should broach thy dearest blood. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., iii. 4. 
7. To state or give expression to for the first 
time; utter; give out; especially, begin con- 
versation or. discussion about; introduce by 
way of topic: as, to broach a theory or an 
opinion. 
This error . . . was first broached by Josephus. 
Raleigh, Hist. World, i. 3. 
Here was our Paolo brought 
To broach a weighty business. 
Browning, Ring and Book, I. 107. 
8f. To give a start to ; set going. 
That for her love such quarrels may be broach'd. 
Shak., Tit. And., it. 1. 
Droved and broached. See drove*. To broach to 
(naut., used intransitively), to come suddenly to the wind, 
as a ship, by accident or by the fault of the helmsman (a 
dangerous position in a gale). 
broacher (bro'cher), re. [< broach + -ec 1 .] If. 
A spit. 
On five sharp broachers rank'd the roast they turn'd. 
Dryden, Iliad, i. 638. 
2. One who broaches, opens, or utters ; a first 
publisher. 
The first broacher of a heretical opinion. 
Sir R. L'Egtrange. 
Deadly haters of truth, broachers of lies. 
Milton, Hist. Eng., HI. 
broaching-press (bro'ching-pres), n. A ma- 
chine-tool employing a broach, Tised in slotting 
and finishing iron. 
broach-post (broch'post), . In carp., a king- 
post. 
broach-turner (broch'ter"ner), re. A menial 
whose occupation is to turn a broach or spit ; a 
turnspit. 
Dish-washer and broach-turner, loon! to me 
Thou smellest all of kitchen as before. 
Tennyson, Gareth and Lyuette. 
broad (brad), a. and re. [= Sc. braid; < ME. 
brood, brod, < AS. brad = OS. bred = OFries. 
bred = D. breed = MLG. bred, LG. breed = OHG. 
MHG. G. breit = Icel. breidhr = Sw. Dan. bred 
= Goth. braids, broad. Hence bread%, breadth. 
The pron. would be reg. brod (like goad, road, 
etc.).] I. a. 1. Wide; having great breadth, 
as distinguished from length and thickness ; 
used absolutely, having much width or breadth ; 
not narrow : as, a strip no broader than one's 
hand ; a broad river or street. 
In are [a] broae strete he igon mete threo enihtes. 
Layamon, I. 217. 
Broad breast, full eye, small head, and nostril wide. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 296. 
2. Large superficially ; extensive ; vast : as, 
the broad expanse of ocean. 
Each year shall give this apple-tree 
A broader flush of roseate bloom. 
Bryant, Planting of the Apple-Tree. 
3. Figuratively, not limited or narrow; liber- 
al; comprehensive; enlarged: as, a man of 
broad views. 
In a broad, statesmanlike, and masterly way. Everett. 
Narrow spirits admire basely and worship meanly ; 
broad spirits worship the right. Thackeray. 
Specifically 4. Inclined to the Broad Church, 
or to the views held by the Broad-Church party 
of the Church of England. See Episcopal 
5. Large in measure or degree; not small or 
slight; ample; consummate. 
gif hym-self be bore blynde hit is a brod wonder. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 584. 
