brow
Origin of brow
Examples from the Web for brow
Contemporary Examples
He wipes beads of sweat from his brow, and extends his hand out towards the crowd.
Her pallid young face, brow sweating with fear and pain, yet resolute and stiff with sorrow, makes you want to cry.
I asked why, and he paused for a moment, furrowing his brow and exhaling deeply.
Native American Basketball Team in Wyoming Have Hoop Dreams Of Their OwnRobert Silverman
August 31, 2014
She crinkles her brow and then, on cue, she emits a keening howl.
He dances clingingly, caressingly, with his brow against mine, cheeks touching.
Historical Examples
Pericles seated himself near them, with deep sadness on his brow.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
But his head was whirling round, the blood was gushing from his brow, his temple, his mouth.
The White CompanyArthur Conan Doyle
Her brow cleared at this, and she laughed with satisfaction.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
His face was livid, and great beads of perspiration stood on his brow.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
He stared in astonishment at Mortimer and Allis, his brow wrinkled in anger.
ThoroughbredsW. A. Fraser
brow
- the part of the face from the eyes to the hairline; forehead
- short for eyebrow
- the expression of the face; countenancea troubled brow
- the top of a mine shaft; pithead
- the jutting top of a hill, etc
- Northern English dialect a steep slope on a road
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for brow
n.
early 14c., browes, brues "brow, forehead, eyebrow," earlier brouwes (c.1300), bruwen (c.1200), from Old English bru, probably originally "eyebrow," but extended to "eyelash," then "eyelid" by association of the hair of the eyebrow with the hair of the eyelid, the eyebrows then becoming Old English oferbrua "overbrows" (early Middle English uvere breyhes or briges aboue þe eiges).
The general word for "eyebrow" in Middle English was brew, breowen (c.1200), from Old English bræw (West Saxon), *brew (Anglian), from Proto-Germanic *bræwi- "blinker, twinkler" (cf. Old Frisian bre, Old Saxon brawa, Middle Dutch brauwe "eyelid," Old High German brawa"eyebrow," Old Norse bra "eyebrow," Gothic brahw "twinkle, blink," in phrase in brahwa augins "in the twinkling of an eye").
Old English bru is from Proto-Germanic *brus- "eyebrow" (cf. Old Norse brun), from PIE *bhru- "eyebrow" (cf. Sanskrit bhrus "eyebrow," Greek ophrys, Old Church Slavonic bruvi, Lithuanian bruvis "brow," Old Irish bru "edge"). The -n- in the Old Norse (brun) and German (braune) forms of the word are from a genitive plural inflection.
Words for "eyelid," "eyelash," and "eyebrow" changed about maddeningly in Old and Middle English (and in all the West Germanic languages). By 1530s, brow had been given an extended sense of "forehead," especially with reference to movements and expressions that showed emotion or attitude.
brow
(brou)- The eyebrow.
- forehead
Idioms and Phrases with brow
brow
see by the sweat of one's brow; cause raised eyebrows.