brain
pronunciation
How to pronounce brain in British English:
UK [breɪn]
How to pronounce brain in American English:
US [breɪn]
-
- Noun:
- that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord
- mental ability
- that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason
- someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality
- the brain of certain animals used as meat
-
- Verb:
- hit on the head
- kill by smashing someone's skull
Word Origin
- brain
- brain: [OE] Old English brægen came from a Germanic *bragnam. Its rather restricted distribution in modern Germanic languages (apart from English brain there is only Dutch and Frisian brein) suggests that in prehistoric times it may have been limited to the area of North Germany where the Low German dialects were spoken, but it may well have some connection with Greek brekhmós ‘forehead’.
- brain (v.)
- "to dash the brains out," late 14c., from brain (n.). Related: Brained; braining.
- brain (n.)
- Old English brægen "brain," from Proto-Germanic *bragnam (cognates: Middle Low German bregen, Old Frisian and Dutch brein), from PIE root *mregh-m(n)o- "skull, brain" (cognates: Greek brekhmos "front part of the skull, top of the head"). But Liberman writes that brain "has no established cognates outside West Germanic ..." and is not connected to the Greek word. More probably, he writes, its etymon is PIE *bhragno "something broken." The custom of using the plural to refer to the substance (literal or figurative), as opposed to the organ, dates from 16c. Figurative sense of "intellectual power" is from late 14c.; meaning "a clever person" is first recorded 1914. Brain teaser is from 1923. Brain stem first recorded 1879, from German. Brain drain is attested from 1963. An Old English word for "head" was brægnloca, which might be translated as "brain locker." In Middle English, brainsick (Old English brægenseoc) meant "mad, addled."
Synonym
genius thinker sage wizard mastermind wit egghead giant prodigy savant scholar intellectual intellect mental
brilliance rationality shrewdness acuity alertness apperception understanding apprehension intellectuality astuteness savvy perception parts comprehension nous sageness intellectualness sagacity sharpness penetration wisdom judiciousness ingenuity wit intellect appreciation grey reason sapience longheadedness percipience intelligence sapiency braininess brightness perspicacity aptness cognizance mind cleverness discernment recognition cognition matter insight keenness realization grasp sense common acumen brain-power mentality aptitude
Example
- 1. Want to enjoy lifelong brain health ?
- 2. In my brain we 're not nearly old enough for that yet !
- 3. How do scientists control brain cells with lasers ?
- 4. Can anything quell a math hater 's brain pain ?
- 5. A smaller gut could therefore support a larger brain .