brewis

[ broo-is, brooz ]

nounNewfoundland.

hard bread soaked in water and then boiled.
such bread, with pieces of fish added, served as a meal.

Origin of brewis

First recorded in 1520–30; earlier brewz, brewes, apparently blend of bree “broth, juice” (Middle English bre, unattested Old English brēo, variant of brīw; cf. brei) and browes, Middle English broys “broth, soup,” Old French broez (nominative), broet (accusative), equivalent to bro (from Old High German brod broth) + -et -et

Words Nearby brewis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use brewis in a sentence

O master, what a mess of brewis stands now upon the point of spoiling by your hastiness.
A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Volume 10 (of 15) | Various
He resented the peculiarity of brewis in his particular case.
Every Man for Himself | Norman Duncan
The situation was a difficult one, and Mrs. brewis-Craven did not master its difficulty.
Twelve Stories and a Dream | H. G. Wells
brewis is made of crusts and dry pieces of bread, soaked a good while in hot milk, mashed up, and eaten with salt.
Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million | Sarah Josepha Hale
Nokka brewis goo, honowin nudwag moonoo shugh kawmun menjeis.
The Wit of Women | Kate Sanborn

British Dictionary definitions for brewis

brewis

brevis (ˈbrɛvɪs)

/ (ˈbruːɪs) /

noundialect, mainly Northern English, Canadian and US

bread soaked in broth, gravy, etc
thickened broth

(bruːz) Canadian a Newfoundland stew of cod or pork, hardtack, and potatoes

Origin of brewis

C16: from Old French broez, from broet, diminutive of breu broth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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