Brownian 
Brunonian. Brownian movement, a rapid oscilla- 
tory motion often observed in very minute particles sus- 
pended in water or other liquid, as when carmine or gam- 
boge is nibbed up in water, and first described by Robert 
Brown (1757-1831), a Scotch botanist and agriculturist. It 
is a purely physical phenomenon, not vital, and is prob- 
ably explained by the fact that the particles are in very 
delicate equilibrium, and hence extremely sensitive to 
the slightest change of temperature. Also and originally 
called Bniiuinian iitotinn or movement. 
brownie (brou'ni), . [Se., dim. of brown: so 
called from their supposed color.] In Scot- 
land, a spirit supposed to haunt houses, partic- 
ularly farm-houses. The brownie was believed to be- 
very useful to the family, particularly if treated well by 
them, and to the servants, for whom while they slept he 
was wont to do many pieces of drudgery. In appearance 
the brownie was said to be meager, shaggy, and wild. 
It would be easy to trace the belief in brownies ... to 
the lar, or hearth spirit of the ancients. 
Encyc. Brit., II. 204. 
browning (brou'ning), re. [Verbal n. of brown, 
v."] 1. The act of making brown. Specifically, 
the process of darkening the polished surfaces of gun- 
barrels and other metallic objects. Chlorid or butter of 
antimony, called browing~Kalt, is used in the process. 
2. A preparation of sugar, port wine, spices, 
etc., for coloring and flavoring meat and made 
dishes. 
Brownism (brou'nizm), n. [< Brown + -ism."] 
1. The ecclesiastical system and doctrine of 
the Brownists ; Independency or Congregation- 
alism. 
However, I must, without fear of offending, express my 
Jear, that the level! of that rigid thing they call Brown- 
ism has prevailed sometimes a little of the furthest in 
the administrations of this pious people. 
C. Mather, Mag. Chris., i. :i. 
2. The Brunonian theory. See Brunonian. 
Brownist (brou'nist), H. [< Brown + -ist."] A 
follower of Robert Brown or Browne (about 
1550-1633), a Puritan, who first organized the 
body of dissenters from the Church of England 
afterward called Independents. See Congregi/- 
tionalist. 
I had as lief be a Brmeiiint. as a politician. 
S/i*.,T. N., iii. >. 
II I hate any, 'tis those schismaticks that puzzle the 
sweet peace of our Church ; so that I could be content to 
see an Anabaptist go to hell on a BrmrnM't back. 
Howell, Familiar Letters, I. vi. :!-'. 
The word Puritan seems to be quashed, and all that here- 
tofore were counted such are now Brownixtg. Miltim. 
Brownistic, Brownistical (brou-nis'tik, -ti- 
kal), a. Of or pertaining to the Brownists or 
to their doctrines and practices; characterized 
by Brownism. 
About the time of Governour Bradford's death, religion 
itself had like to have died in that colony, through a lib- 
ertine and Brownistick spirit then prevailing among the 
people, and a strong disposition to discountenance the 
gospel-ministry, by setting up the "gifts of private breth- 
ren" in opposition thereto. C. Slather, Mag. Chris., ii. *2. 
brown-leemer, brown-leeming (broun'le"mer, 
-ming), n. Aripe brown nut. Also called broirn- 
shuller. [Prov. Eng.] 
brownness (broun'nes), n. The quality of be- 
ing brown. 
brown-shuller (broun'shuFer), n. [That is, 
*brown-slieller."] Same as troirn-leemer. 
brown-spar (broun'spar), n. A name given to 
a ferruginous variety of dolomite. 
brownstone (broun'ston), . A name given to 
various kinds of dark-brown sandstone. In the 
United States it is the sandstone from the quarries in the 
Triassic or New Red Sandstone, and especially such a stone 
from quarries in the Connecticut river valley, much used 
as a building-stone. 
brown-stout (broun'stouf), n. A superior kind 
of porter. See stout. 
brownwqrt (broun'wert), re. [ME. not found ; 
< AS. brun-wyrt, < brun, brown, + wyrt, wort.] 
1. A name of the plants Scrophularia aquatica 
and 8. nodosa, derived from the color of the 
stems. 2. A name of the self-heal, Brunella 
vulgaris, from its use in a disease of the throat 
called die briiutie (the brown) in German. 
browny (brou'ni), a. and . [< brown + -a 1 . 
Cf. brownie.] I.f a. Somewhat brown : as, " his 
browny locks," Shak., Lover's Complaint, 1. 85. 
II. n. ; pi. brownies (-niz). The top-knot. 
[Local Eng. (Cornwall).] 
brow-post (brou'post), . In arch., a cross-beam. 
browse 1 (brouz), . [Appar. for "broust, < OF. 
broust, a sprout, shoot, bud, F. brout, browse, 
browse-wood (cf . Sp. broza, rubbish of leaves, 
etc., brota, brote, germ of a vine, bud of trees, 
thickets, rubbish), prob. < MHG. bros, G. dial. 
(Bav.) bross, brosst, a bud (ef. Bret, brous, a 
bud, shoot, broust, a thick bush, brousta, browse ; 
prob. from the F.) ; cf. OS. brtistian, sprout, and 
see brush."] The tender shoots or twigs of shrubs 
and trees, such as cattle may eat ; green food fit 
for cattle, deer, etc. Also spelled broir-r. 
698 
The whiles their gotes upon the brovzes fedd. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. x. 45. 
Up hither drive thy goats, and play by me : 
This hill has browse for them, and shade for thee. 
Dryden, tr. of Ovid's Metamorph., i. 943. 
The deer leave the mountains and come to the plains 
below to feed on the browse of the birch. 
Sportsman'* Gazetteer, p. 63. 
browse 1 (brouz), t: ; pret. and pp. browsed, ppr. 
browning. [Also browze, early mod. E. also 
brouse, bronze, brooze, appar. for *broust, < OF. 
brouster, F. brouter (cf. E. dial, brut, browse) 
= Pr. brostar, nibble oil the buds, sprouts, and 
bark of plants, browse, < OF. broust, a sprout, 
shoot, bud: see browse 1 , .] I. trans. 1. To feed 
on ; pasture on ; graze : said of cattle, deer, etc. 
Elysian lawns 
Browsed by none but Dian's fawns. Keats, Ode. 
The fields between 
Are dewy-fresh, browsed by deep-udder'd kine. 
Tennyson, Gardener's Daughter. 
2. To nibble and consume ; eat off: said of cattle. 
The barks of trees thoil browsedst. Shak., A. and C., i. 4. 
II. intrans. 1. To graze; specifically, to feed 
on the tender shoots, branches, or bark of shrubs 
and trees : said of herbivorous animals. 
Such like sort of fruit, which those animals brouz 'it upon. 
Oldys, Life of Raleigh. 
The full lips, the rough tongue, the corrugated cartila- 
ginous palate, the broad cutting teeth of the ox, the deer, 
the horse, and the sheep, qualify this tribe for browsing 
upon their pasture. Paley, Nat. Theol., ii. 
2. To feed : said of human beings. [Bare.] 
There is cold meat i' the cave ; we'll browse on that. 
Shak., Cymbeline, iii. 6. 
browse 2 (brouz), n. [Origin obscure.] In 
metal., imperfectly smelted ore. 
browser (brou'zer), re. One who browses. Also 
spelled browzer. 
browse-WOOd (brouz'wud), n. Bushes or twigs 
on which animals feed. [Rare.] 
brow-sickt (brou'sik), a. Sick with the brow- 
ague ; dejected ; hanging the head. 
But yet a gracious influence from you 
May alter nature in our brow-sick crew. 
Suckliny, Prol. to a Masque. 
browsing (brou'zing), . [Verbal n. of browse*, 
/.] A place where animals may browse : as, 
" ftrwrsHf.i/sforthe deer," Howell, Letters, I. ii. 8. 
Also browzing. 
brow-snag (brou'snag), n. Same as broic-atitler. 
browspot (brou'spot), . A glandular body 
between the eyes of a frog or toad; the inter- 
ocular body, probably giving rise to the fiction 
of the jewel in the head of these animals. 
browst (broust), n. [Connected with brou; a 
form of brew 1 , q. v.] That which is brewed ; as 
much liquor as is brewed at one time. [Scotch . ] 
browstert, An obsolete form of brewster*. 
brow-transom (brou'tran'som), n. An upper 
transom. 
browze, . and r. See browse 1 . 
browzer, browzing. See browser, browsing. 
broydt, '' t. An obsolete form of braid 1 . 
bruang (bro'ang), . The native name of the 
Malayan sun-bear, Helarctos malayanus. It has 
line and glossy black fur. with a white patch on the breast. 
bruise 
bruck), < Gr. fipovxof, a locust without wings.] 1 . 
A genus of Coleoptera, represented by the pea- 
weevils. It so closely resembles iu general appearance 
the snout-beetles that it is usually classed with the Khi/u- 
chophora. Recent investigations have, however, demon- 
strated the fact that it is much more closely related to the 
leaf-beetles (Chruiomelid<f), from which it is distinguished 
only by the distinctly pedunculate submentum. A large 
number of small species, now subdivided into several gen- 
era, are comprised in this genus, all readily recognizable 
from their squarish form, somewhat narrowing anteriorly ; 
European Grain-Bruchus ( R.eranarius}. ( Small figure shows natural 
size.) a, egg of Bruchits pisi, magnified. 
the head being produced into a short beak, and the hind 
femora usually dilated and in most species toothed. In the 
larval state they live in the seeds of plants, especially of 
the family Leguntin<f<v, as the bean and pea. The holes 
often observed in peas are made by the perfect brncbus 
to effect its escape. 
2. [I. c.] A member of this genus. [The word 
bruchun is used in the Douay version of the Bible, by literal 
transcription from the Latin, in several places where the 
King James version has locust, caterpillar, or caiikenconn ; 
the first two are also found in Challoner's revision in some 
places where the Vulgate has bruchug.} 
brucina (bro-si'na), n. [NL.] Same as brucine. 
brucine, brucin (bro'sin), . [< Brueea (a ge- 
nus of shrubs named after J. Bruce (1730-94), 
the African traveler) + -intV, -in?."] A vege- 
table alkaloid (C 2 H 2e N2Oi), discovered in what 
was thought to be the bark of the Brueea anti- 
dysenterica, but which was that of Strychnos 
NwK-vomica. Its taste is exceedingly bitter and acrid, 
and it forms with the acids salts which are soluble and gen- 
erally erystallizable. Its action on the animal economy 
is similar to that of strychnine, but much less powerful. 
brucite (bro'sit), n. [After Dr. Bruce, a min- 
eralogist of New York.] 1. A native hydrate 
of magnesium, usually found iu thin foliated 
plates, of a white or greenish color and pearly 
luster. 2. Same as chmtdrodite. 
brack (bruk), H. [E. dial., also brock; < ME. bruk, 
brake, a young locust, grasshopper. = Sp. brnyo 
= It. bruco, a grub, caterpillar, < L. bruchus : 
see Bruchus.'] A field-cricket. [Prov. Eng.] 
bruckle (bruk'l), a. A dialectal (Scotch) form 
of brickie. 
Lasses and glasses are brvckle ware. Scotch proverb. 
bruet, i'- An obsolete spelling of brew 1 . 
bruett, 
See breu-et. 
Bniang (Hflarctos malayanus). 
and a long and very flexile tongue, which it insinuates 
into recesses of the nests of wild bees, to rob them of their 
honey. It is easily domesticated, very harmless, and fond 
of children. 
brubru (bro'bro), . [Prob. a native name.] 
A book-name of an African shrike, the Lanius 
or Xilans brubru. 
bruchid (bro'kid), re. A beetle of the family 
Hrucliitlii'. 
Bruchidae (bro'ki-de), n. pi. [NL., < Bruchus + 
-iilit'.'] A family of phytophagous Coleoptera, 
typified by the genus Bruchus. 
Bruchus (bro'kus), . [LL. bruclms, ML. also 
hrueus (> ult. E. dial, bruck, a field-cricket: see 
, 
bruff(bruf), a. [E.dial.; cf. bhiffi."] 1. Hearty; 
jolly; healthy. 2. Proud ; elated. 3. Rough 
'in manner. HalliweU. [Prov. Eng.] 
brugh, i'. See brouglfi. 
brugnet, [OF. : see broigne."] Same as 
broigne. 
bruti (bro), n. A name of the pig-tailed ma- 
caque, Macacus nemestrinus. 
bruik (bruk), v. t. A Scotch form of brook 2 . 
bruilzie(bruTzi), . See brulyie. 
bruin (bro'in; D. pron. broin), . [The name 
given to the bear in the Dutch version of the 
celebrated tale or fable of Reynard the Fox, 
being merely the D. bruin =. OHG. MHG. brun, 
G. braitn = E. brown, q. v.] A name given to 
the bear. [As a quasi-proper name, it is often 
written with a capital letter.] 
bruise (broz), *. ; pret. and pp. bruised, ppr. 
bruising, [The spelling bruise is due to OF. 
bruiser (see below) ; early mod. E. bruse, brute, 
< ME. broosen, brosen, brusen, also brousen, 
broi/sen, more frequently brysen, brisen, bresen, 
also brissen, bressen, break, bruise; partly < 
AS. brysan, break, bruise (to which all the ME. 
forms except broosen, brosen, brousen, broy- 
sen could be referred; but the reg. mod. rep- 
resentative of AS. brysfin would be brize or 
"breeze : see briseS) ; partly < OF. bruscr, broser, 
bruiser, bruisier, briiicr, brisi-r, F. briser, break 
(to which all the ME. forms could be referred). 
Cf. 6ms 2 , briseZ, breeze 3 , brazil. It is not certain 
that the AS. form is related to the F. form ; 
the origin of both is unknown. Cf. Gael. Ir. 
brift, break.] I. trntix. 1. To injure by a blow 
or by pressure without laceration ; contuse, as 
a pliant substance; dent or beat in without 
breaking, as anything hard: as, to bruise the 
hand; a brniseri apple; "his bruised shield," 
Shak., Hen. V., v., Prol. (cho.). 
