brass

== English == === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /bɹɑːs/ (MLE, also) IPA(key): /bɹas/ (Northern England, Scotland) IPA(key): /bɹas/ (General American) IPA(key): /bɹæs/ Rhymes: -ɑːs, -æs === Etymology 1 === From Middle English bras, bres, from Old English bræs (“brass, bronze”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps representing a backformation from Proto-Germanic *brasnaz (“brazen”), from or related to *brasō (“fire, pyre”). Compare Old Norse and Icelandic bras (“solder”), Icelandic brasa (“to harden in the fire”), Swedish brasa (“a small controlled fire”), Danish brase (“to fry”); French braser ("to solder"; > English braise) from the same Germanic root. Compare also Middle Dutch braspenninc ("a silver coin", literally, "silver-penny"; > Dutch braspenning), Old Frisian bress (“copper”), Middle Low German bras (“metal, ore”). In the military sense an ellipsis of the brass hats. ==== Noun ==== brass (usually uncountable, plural brasses) (countable, uncountable) A metallic alloy of copper and zinc used in many industrial and plumbing applications. Coordinate term: bronze A memorial or sepulchral tablet usually made of brass or latten: a monumental brass. Fittings, utensils, or other items made of brass. (music) A class of wind instruments, usually made of metal (such as brass), that use vibrations of the player's lips to produce sound; a band or the section of an orchestra that features such instruments. Spent cartridge casings (usually made of brass): the part of the cartridge left over after bullets or shells have been fired. (uncountable) The color of brass. (military, business or other organizations, uncountable, used as a singular or plural noun, metonymic) High-ranking officers: the brass hats. Hyponym: top brass (uncountable, informal) A brave or foolhardy attitude; impudence. Synonym: bronze (slang, dated, Potteries) Money. Inferior composition. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ===== References ===== “brass”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. “brass, noun.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000. “brass n.1”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present ==== Adjective ==== brass (comparative more brass, superlative most brass) Made of brass, of or pertaining to brass. Of the color of brass. (informal) Impertinent, bold: brazen. 1996 May 24, 2:00 am, Sherman Simpson, Want license key for AGENT FOR WINDOWS95, alt.usenet.offline-reader.forte-agent: Maybe (probably so), but it's rare someone is brass enough to post a msg for all to see asking for a software key, that the vast majority have paid for in support of the development effort. 2000 Aug 18, 2:00 am, David Ryan, strangest bid retraction /illegal lottery NOT, rec.collecting.coins: After cornering the dutch auction, the seller was brass enough to send him the whole lot without one. 2000 Aug 19, 3:00 am, n4mwd, for RMB, alt.support.anxiety-panic: Try to keep in mind that not all of his converts are brass enough to challenge the benzo pushers in this group, [...] (slang) Bad, annoying; as wordplay applied especially to brass instruments. 1908, The Smith Family, published in Punch, March 4 1908, bound in Punch vol. CXXXIV, page 168: Mr. REGINALD SMITH, KC, the publisher, followed, but he had hardly begun his very interesting remarks when a procession headed by a very brass band entered Smithfield from the west, and approached the platform. Of inferior composition. ===== Translations ===== ==== Verb ==== brass (third-person singular simple present brasses, present participle brassing, simple past and past participle brassed) (transitive) To coat with brass. ===== Derived terms ===== ===== Translations ===== ==== Related terms ==== braze brazen brazier === Etymology 2 === By ellipsis from brass nail, in turn from "nail[ing]" (fig.) and "brass blonde" (see "brazen"); and also shortened from Cockney Rhyming slang brass flute for "prostitute". ==== Noun ==== brass (usually uncountable, plural brasses) (countable, slang) A prostitute. ===== Translations ===== ==== Adjective ==== brass (slang) Brass monkey; cold. ==== See also ==== althorn chalcography cornet euphonium flugelhorn French horn mellophone Muntz metal saxhorn sousaphone trombone trumpet tuba Appendix:Colors === Etymology 3 === From Portuguese braça and Spanish braza, from Old Galician-Portuguese and Old Spanish braça, from Latin brachia, variant of bracchium (“arm, cubit”), from Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn, “upper arm”). ==== Noun ==== brass (plural brasses) (historical, obsolete) Synonym of brace, a traditional unit of measure equivalent to a fathom (6 feet) or about 1.6 m, especially as the Spanish braza and Portuguese braça, also French brasse. === References === David Barthelmy (1997–2026), “Brass”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database. “brass”, in Mindat.org‎[1], Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2026. == Icelandic == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /prasː/ Rhymes: -asː === Noun === brass n (genitive singular brass, no plural) (music, slang) brass ==== Declension ==== == Middle English == === Noun === brass alternative form of bras == Swedish == === Noun === brass n (colloquial) a brass section (in a jazz orchestra) Synonyms: mässing, bleckblås (colloquial) hashish (processed form of cannabis) Synonym: hasch ==== Declension ==== === References === brass in Svensk ordbok (SO) brass in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)