English Explanatory Dictionary

brass

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications.
  2. A memorial or sepulchral tablet usually made of brass or latten: a monumental brass.
  3. Fittings, utensils, or other items made of brass.
  4. A class of wind instruments, usually made of metal (such as brass), that use vibrations of the player's lips to produce sound; a band or the section of an orchestra that features such instruments.
  5. Spent cartridge casings (usually made of brass): the part of the cartridge left over after bullets or shells have been fired.
  6. The color of brass (etymology 1, noun sense 1).
  7. High-ranking officers: the brass hats.
  8. A brave or foolhardy attitude; impudence.
  9. Money.
  10. Inferior composition.
adj
  1. Made of brass, of or pertaining to brass.
  2. Of the color of brass.
  3. Impertinent, bold: brazen.
  4. Bad, annoying; as wordplay applied especially to brass instruments.
  5. Of inferior composition.
verb
  1. To coat with brass.
noun
  1. A prostitute.
adj
  1. Brass monkey; cold.
noun
  1. Synonym of brace, a traditional unit of measure equivalent to a fathom (6 feet) or about 1.6 m, especially as the Spanish braza and Portuguese braça, also French brasse.

Pronunciation

/bɹɑːs/ /bɹas/ /bɹæs/ en-us-brass.ogg

Word forms

brass brasses more brass most brass brassing brassed

Etymology

From Middle English bras, bres, from Old English bræs (“brass, bronze”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps representing a backformation from Proto-Germanic *brasnaz (“brazen”), from or related to *brasō (“fire, pyre”). Compare Old Norse and Icelandic bras (“solder”), Icelandic brasa (“to harden in the fire”), Swedish brasa (“a small controlled fire”), Danish brase (“to fry”); French braser ("to solder"; > English braise) from the same Germanic root. Compare also Middle Dutch braspenninc ("a silver coin", literally, "silver-penny"; > Dutch braspenning), Old Frisian bress (“copper”), Middle Low German bras (“metal, ore”). In the military sense an ellipsis of the brass hats.

Synonyms

bronze brace

Related words

braze brazen brazier althorn chalcography cornet euphonium flugelhorn French horn mellophone Muntz metal saxhorn sousaphone trombone trumpet tuba

Derived words

admiralty brass alpha brass antique brass beta brass bold as brass bow-legged wi' brass brass ankle Brass Ankles brass-balled brass balls brass band brassboard brassbound brass button brass ceiling brass choir brass-collar Democrat brassed off brassen brass farthing brassfounder brassfounding brass hat brassie brass in pocket brass instrument brass instrumentalist brassish brass it out brass-knuckled brass knuckles brass leaf brasslike brass monkey brass monkeys brass nail brass-neck brass neck brass-necked brass ovaries brass pounder brass rat brass razoo brass ring brass rubbing brass section brass tacks brassware brasswind brasswork brassworker brassworking brassworks brassy calamine brass coal brass cold as a witch's tit in a brass bra cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey Corinthian brass double in brass

Translations

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