byrnie

[ bur-nee ]

nounArmor.
  1. a coat of mail; hauberk.

Origin of byrnie

1
1325–75; Middle English byrny,Scottish variant of brynie, brinie<Old Norse brynja, cognate with Old English byrne coat of mail, Old High German brunnia

Words Nearby byrnie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use byrnie in a sentence

  • The mediaeval warrior has a heavy byrnie as well as a great shield suspended from his neck.

    Homer and His Age | Andrew Lang
  • It is true that only one trace of a byrnie, and that apparently not of ring-mail, has so far been found in an Anglo-Saxon grave.

    Beowulf | R. W. Chambers
  • In l. 322, Falk takes hring-īren to refer to a "ring-adorned sword," though it may well mean a ring-byrnie.

    Beowulf | R. W. Chambers
  • Fragments of an iron byrnie, made of small rings fastened together, were found in the Vendel grave 12 (seventh century).

    Beowulf | R. W. Chambers
  • Odin rides first; with his golden helmet, resplendent byrnie, and his spear Gungner, he advances against the Fenris-wolf.

British Dictionary definitions for byrnie

byrnie

/ (ˈbɜːnɪ) /


noun
  1. an archaic word for coat of mail

Origin of byrnie

1
Old English byrne; related to Old Norse brynja, Gothic brunjō, Old High German brunnia coat of mail, Old Irish bruinne breast

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