brewis

American  

[broo-is, brooz] / ˈbru ɪs, bruz /

noun

Newfoundland.

1. hard bread soaked in water and then boiled.

2. such bread, with pieces of fish added, served as a meal.

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brewis British  

/ ˈbruːɪs, ˈbrɛvɪs /

noun

1. bread soaked in broth, gravy, etc

2. thickened broth

3. a Newfoundland stew of cod or pork, hardtack, and potatoes

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Etymology

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

Example Sentences

He did not care for brewis and brown bread any more than I did and for his own satisfaction he wrote to friends in the old country to send him a consignment of Irish oatmeal.

From My Friends at Brook Farm by Sears, John Van Der Zee

“To be frank,” said the parson, in great humiliation—“to be perfectly frank, I like brewis, but—” The happiness faded from Aunt Tibbie’s eyes.

From Every Man for Himself by Duncan, Norman

We have all been hungry and we have all hoped; but few of us, I fancy, being faint of hunger—and dyspeptic—have sat down to a bowl of brewis.

From Every Man for Himself by Duncan, Norman

When day, peeping in the east, made the sky turn from black to red like a boiling lobster, he waked us again to take a dish of monastical brewis.

From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 5 by Motteux, Peter Anthony

The first Háshim got his name from crumbling bread into the Saríd or brewis of the Meccan pilgrims during "The Ignorance."

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 09 by Burton, Richard Francis, Sir