▪ I. † brim, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1–6 brim, 1–4 brym, 4 brymme.
[OE. brim surf, (poet.) the sea = ON. brim surf, sea; prob. f. the stem brem- roar, rage: see brim v.1 It became obs. in ME.; but was perhaps used by Spenser.]
An old poetical word for the sea; also, ‘flood’, water.
| Beowulf 847 (Gr.) Wæs on blode brim weallende. c 937 Battle of Brunanburh in O.E. Chron., Siþþan eastan hider Engle and Sexe up becomon ofer brade brimu Brytene sohtan. c 1000 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 177 æquor, brym, sæ. c 1290 Land Cokaygne 156 in E.E.P. (1862) 160 Hi..lepith dune in-to the brimme, And doth ham sleilich for to swimme. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2172 A balȝ berȝ bi a bonke þe brymme [? sea or shore] bysyde. a 1400 Leg. Rood (1871) 125 In middes þe brig was ouer þe brim. 1596 Spenser F.Q. v. ix. 35 The bright sunne, what time his fierie teme Towards the westerne brim [perh. = edge, horizon] begins to draw. |
▪ II. brim, n.2
(brɪm)
Forms: 3–7 brimme, brymme, 3–6 brym, 3, 7 brime, 6 bryme, 7 brimm, 4– brim.
[ME. brimme, brymme, of uncertain etymology: cf. ON. barmr brim, Ger. bräme fem. ‘margin, border, fringe’, MHG. brem str. neut. ‘edging, border’.]
I. orig. The border, margin, edge, or brink:
† 1. a. of the sea, or any piece of water: Coast, shore, bank, brink. (Now only as a transferred application of 4.)
| c 1205 Lay. 4472 His cniþtes..to þare sæ færden, þar laien bi þan brimme. a 1300 K. Horne 196 Ure schip bigan to swymme To þis londes brymme. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. xii. (1495) 447 In the brymme of the deed see groweth most fayr apples. 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) Llij, The flud of Nyle shulde flowe ouer his brymmes. 1597 Gerard Herbal ii. xxxvi. §16. 249 The bayche and brimmes of the sea. 1856 Bryant Ages xxviii, His willing waves yon bright blue bay Sends up, to kiss his decorated brim. |
† b. In this sense formerly used without any defining addition. (Now only by ellipsis.)
| c 1275 Lay. 17030 Þe cnihtes hine funde Þar he sat bi brimme [c 1205 stronden]. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 365 Watz no brymme þat abod vnbrosten bylyue. 1375 Barbour Bruce xiv. 339 In a richt fair place..Lawch by a brym. c 1460 Emare 349 A boot he fond by the brym. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. iii. 34 Whenas Calepine came to the brim..His heart with vengeance inwardly did swell. 1830 Tennyson Arab. Nts. 16 The citron-shadows in the blue: By garden porches on the brim, The costly doors flung open wide. |
† 2. a. of other things. Obs., arch. or dial.
| 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. xxiii. 57 On the brimme of the dykes..he caused to stryke of the heedes of all the prisoners. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. xxii. 173 Like to the common Belfloure, but..not so deepely cut about the brimmes or edges. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. iii. 34 Upon the brim of his brode-plated shield. 1591 Lyly Sapho ii. iv. 179 Let thy love hang at thy hearts bottome, not at the tongues brimme. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 394 Escars that grow about the brims of vlcers. 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden cxxx, The flowers..of a whitish colour washed about the brims with a little light carnation. 1716 Lond. Gaz. No. 5470/4 The Brims of the Ears black. 1862 Barnes Rhymes Dorset Dial. II. 185 E vell vrom the brim Ov a cliff. |
† b. An edging or border (distinct from the surface).
| a 1610 Fletcher Faithf. Sheph. iv. i. 225 A brim Of sailing Pines that edge yon Mountain in. 1732 Acc. Workhouses 56 A slate with broad brims. |
† 3. fig. The ‘brink’ (of despair, the grave, etc.).
| 1549 Coverdale Erasm. Par. Rom. Prol., Brought unto the very brymme of desperacion. 1622 A. Court Constancie i. 48 The quarrels..haue brought him to the brimme of his graue. 1641 Milton Prel. Episc. (1851) 80 This cited place lyes upon the very brimme of a noted corruption. 1649 Jer. Taylor Gt. Exemp. ii. viii. 75 He..is at the margin and brim of that state of finall reprobation. |
II. 4. a. Now esp. The edge, margin, or ‘lip’ of a cup, bowl, basin, or anything of similar shape artificial or natural. (Formerly often pl.) spec. brim of the pelvis or pelvic brim: the part of the pelvis that forms the boundary of the superior pelvic aperture and separates the false or greater pelvis above from the true or lesser pelvis below; also, the aperture itself. Also ellipt.
| 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 54 Better spare at brym than at bottem. 1570 Levins Manip. 131 Y⊇ Brim of a cup, labrum. 1586 J. Hooker Girald. Irel. in Holinshed II. 93/2 Under the brim of his scull. 1611 Bible 2 Chron. iv. 2 He made a molten Sea of ten cubites, from brim to brim. a 1695 Wood Life (1848) 260 A vessel or a bason notched at the brimms. 1718 J. Chamberlayne Relig. Philos. (1730) II. xvii. §40 They will see it run over the Brims of the Glass like bottled Beer. 1754–64 [see pelvis 1]. 1810 Encycl. Lond. I. 646/2 From the brim of the pelvis upwards. 1830 Lyell Princ. Geol. (1875) I. ii. xxv. 622 On arriving at the brim of the Crater. 1885 R. & F. Barnes Syst. Obstetr. Med. II. xiii. 627 The filling up of the brim, and even of a part of the pelvic cavity sometimes, by the breech. 1957 D. Sinclair Introd. Functional Anat. xxi. 275 This basin is very incomplete, and ends centrally in a fairly abrupt rim of bone called the pelvic brim. |
b. in full to the brim, and the like. Often fig.
| 1601 Shakes. All's Well ii. iv. 48 To make the comming houre oreflow with joy, And pleasure drowne the brim. 1606 ― Ant. & Cl. iii. xiii. 18 He will fill thy wishes to the brimme. 1608 ― Per. ii. iii. 50 A cup that's stored unto the brim. 1782 H. More Belshaz. ii. 74 Fill me that massy goblet to the brim. 1814 Cary Dante's Inf. vi. 6 Thy city, heap'd with envy to the brim. 1875 B. Taylor Faust I. vi. 111 Quickly fill the beaker to the brim. |
5. a. The upper edge or surface of water. arch. or poetic.
| a 1552 Leland in Sat. Rev. 13 Dec. (1885) 802 [Bremes] ons frayed approach not in the bryme of the water that yere agayne. 1571 Digges Pantom. iii. xiv. S ij b, Marke..where the brimme of the water now toucheth. 1611 Bible Josh. iii. 15 The feet of the Priestes..were dipped in the brimme of the water. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Bergerac's Com. Hist. i. 168 They are Fish that never rise to the brim of the Water. 1808 Scott Marm. vi. xv, Not lighter does the swallow skim Along the smooth lake's level brim. |
† b. The surface of the ground. Obs.
| 1572 J. Jones Bathes of Bath ii. 11 b, Neither is the place of the fyre under the brimme of the earth. |
6. The projecting edge or marginal rim of a hat.
| 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 1089 His bonnet on, Under whose brim the gaudy sun would peep. 1663 Gerbier Counsel 12 The broad Brim of a good Hat. 1665–9 Boyle Occas. Refl. iv. xix. (1675) 279 Upon ones Drinking Water out of the Brims of his Hat. 1716–8 Lady M. W. Montague Lett. I. xxxviii. 154 A high-crowned hat without brims. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. iii. x. 332 They sometimes invert the hat, and wear it brim uppermost. |
7. techn. ? The thickened marginal portion, or ‘sound-bow’, of a bell.
| [1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. (1729) 411 In the middle of the Floor stood a rusty Iron Bell on its Brims.] a 1849 J. C. Mangan Poems (1859) 47 Brim and rim it gleams. 1872 Ellacombe Bells of Ch. i. 5 A bell should measure: in diameter at the mouth, fifteen brims; in height to the shoulder, twelve brims. |
8. Naut. (See quot.)
| 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1789) Rim, or Brim, a name given to the circular edge of any of the tops. 1867 in Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. |
9. Comb., as brim-charged, filled to the brim.
| 1583 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 87 Anchises a goold boul massye becrowning With wyne brym charged. |
▪ III. brim, n.3
[f. brim v.1]
(See quot.)
| 1572 L. Mascall Govt. Cattle, Hogges (1627) 274 To make them goe to brim, or take the boare, it shall be good to giue them barley. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry iii. xiv. (1660) 166 You shall say Boare goeth to his Brymme. 1727 Bradley Fam. Dict., Brim, a Term relating to Swine; a Sow is said to go to Brim when she goes to Boar. |
▪ IV. † brim, n.4 Obs. exc. dial.
A bad, vicious woman. Cf. brimstone 4.
| 1730–6 Bailey, Brim [q. a Contraction of Brimstone], a common Strumpet. 1764 T. Bridges Homer Travest. (1797) I. 173 Can mortal scoundrels thee [Hera] perplex, And the great brim of brimstones vex? 1808 Jamieson, Brim, a cant term for a trull, Loth. |
▪ V. brim, n.5
(brɪm)
U.S. and Austral. var. of bream n. In U.S. spec. the long-eared sunfish (Lepomis auritus); cf. bream n. 2 b.
| 1795 J. Scott U.S. Gazetteer Hv, A great variety of fish, as rock, mullet,..brim, and sturgeon. 1887 Harper's Mag. July 270/1 If they could slip away..there would be a diminished number of ‘brim’ and ‘goggle-eye’ in the ditch. 1894 Outing (U.S.) XXIII. 403/2 The brim, a small, red fish, which is excellent fried. 1898 Morris Austral Eng. 52/2 The popular pronunciation is Brim, and the fishes are all different from the various fishes called Bream in the northern hemisphere. 1936 Amer. Speech XI. 314/1 Brim, black perch. 1945 Baker Austral. Lang. xii. 214 Popular fish-names peculiar to the Australian include: brim for bream. 1954 Sydney Morning Herald 24 May 8 Cod up to nine pound and brim up to seven. |
▪ VI. brim, v.1
(brɪm)
Forms: 5 bryme, brymmyn, 5–7 brymme, 6 breame, breme, 7 brime, brimme, 7– brim, (9 dial. breme).
[In 15th c. brymme, in the 16th c. and mod. dial. also breme, corresp. to brym, breme a.; either formed from the latter, or (though not found in ME.) actually descended from OE. bremman to roar, rage, corresp. to OHG. breman, MHG. bremen to rage, roar, MDu. and Du. bremen, bremmen, from an old Teut. root brem-, cogn. with L. fremĕre. In early mod.Du. bremen had also the sense ‘desire violently’, and LG. brummen (a derivative form) is said of the sow seeking the boar.]
1. intr. Of swine: To be ‘in heat’, rut, copulate.
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 1051 Nowe bores gladly brymmeth. Ibid. 1070 The sonner wol thei [sows] brymme ayeine and brynge Forth pigges moo. 1483 Cath. Angl. 44 To Bryme, subare. 1591 Percivall Span. Dict., Berriondez de puerca, when a sow is briming, subatio. 1616 Bullokar, Brime, a terme used among hunters when the wilde Boare goeth to the female. 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict. s.v. Sow, To make a Sow Brim or take Boar. 1863 Atkinson Danby Provinc., Brim, breme, 1. to desire the boar; 2. (as applied to the boar), to serve the sow. |
2. trans. Said of a boar.
| 1552 Huloet, Brymme a sowe, as when a bore doth get pigges. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. (1586) 127 Is oftentimes breamed of the boare, and conceaveth. 1601 Holland Pliny Nat. Hist. I. 304. 1725 Bailey Erasm. Colloq. 452 Every Boar to brim his Sow. 1863 [see 1]. |
▪ VII. † brim, brime, v.2 Obs. rare.
intr. To be fertile, develop fruit, to breed (sense 11 c).
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 118 God..erðe brimen and beren dede. Ibid. 1128 Men seið ðe treen..Waxen in time and brimen. |
▪ VIII. brim, v.3
(brɪm)
Also 7 brimme.
[f. brim n.2]
1. trans. To fill (a goblet, etc.) to the brim. Also absol.
| 1611 Heywood Gold. Age i. i. Wks. 1874 III. 14 Fetch me his heart, brimme me a bowle With his warme bloud. 1805 Southey Madoc in W. ii, The board was spread anew, Anew the horn was brimm'd. 1813 Coleridge, Remorse v. i. 108 As I brimmed the bowl, I thought on thee. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. cvi. 16 Fetch the wine, Arrange the board and brim the glass. |
b. fig. and transf.
| 1844 A. Welby Poems (1867) 70 Softly brimming my young eyes with tears. 1853 Bowring in Fraser's Mag. XLVIII. 351 All my heart was brimmed with bliss. 1878 R. W. Gilder Poet & Master 9 Not tears, but jollity..brim the strong man-child's eyes. |
2. intr. To be or become brim-full. to brim over: to overflow with. (The ppl. adj. brimming is found from Milton onward.)
| 1818 Keats Endym. ii. 997 Where I brim Round flowery islands. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. II. 70 The bustle of the market..went on within or brimmed over into the streets. 1873 Geikie Gt. Ice Age xxvi. 353 The Gulf of Bothnia appears to have brimmed with ice. 1874 T. Hardy Madding Crowd I. xxix. 322 He brimmed with deep feeling as he replied. |
† 3. trans. To provide with a brim. Obs.
| 1623 Cockeram ii, To brim a thing, marginate. |
▪ IX. brim a.
see breme.