Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Brow |
BrowNoun1. The part of the face above the eyes. 2. The arch of hair above each eye. 3. The peak of a hill; "the sun set behind the brow of distant hills". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "brow" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references) |
Etymology: Brow \Brow\, noun. [Old English browe, bruwe, Anglo-Saxon; akin to Anglo-Saxon bre['a]w, eyelid, Old Flemmish br[=e], Dutch braauw, Icelandic br[=a], Old High German pr[=a]wa, German braue, Old Slavic, Russian brove, Irish brai, Irish & Gaelic abhra, Armor. abrant, Greek, Sanskrit. Compare to Braya bank. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Mining | A. Lanc. An underground roadway leading to a working place, driven either to the rise or to the dip. b. A low place in the roof of a mine, giving insufficient headroom. c. A fault plane d. Top of a mine shaft. Also called pit brow e. The projecting upper part or margin of a steep slope just below the crest; the edge of the top of a hill or mountain, or the place at which agentle slope becomes abrupt. See also:apex. (references) |
Transportation | Portable wooden bridge or ramp between the ship and a wharf, pier or dock. . Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: BrowSynonyms: eyebrow (n), forehead (n), hilltop (n), supercilium (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Edge | Noun: edge, verge, brink, brow, brim, margin, border, confine, skirt, rim, flange, side, mouth; jaws, chops, chaps, fauces; lip, muzzle. |
Exertion | Labor, work, toil, travail, manual labor, sweat of one's brow, swink, drudgery, slavery, fagging, hammering; limae labor; industry, industriousness, operoseness, operosity. |
By the sweat of one's brow, suo Marte. | |
Front | Brow, forehead, visage, physiognomy, phiz, countenance, mut; rostrum, beak, bow, stem, prow, prore, jib. |
Relief | Smooth the ruffled brow of care, temper the wind to the shorn lamb, lay the flattering unction to one's soul. |
Resentment | Pout, knit the brow, frown, scowl, lower, snarl, growl, gnarl, gnash, snap; redden, color; look black, look black as thunder, look daggers; bite one's thumb; show one's teeth, grind one's teeth; champ the bit, champ at the bit. |
Summit | Tip, tip top; crest, crow's nest, cap, truck, nib; end; crown, brow; head, nob, noddle, pate; capsheaf. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Brow |
| English words defined with "brow": Beetle brow, Browed ♦ encircled ♦ hilltop ♦ Overbrow ♦ ringed, Rusine antler ♦ sensory hair ♦ Tres-tyne ♦ vibrissa ♦ whisker, wreathed. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "brow": balance plane ♦ Corinth's Pedagogue ♦ GORGON ♦ Hazar-hatticon, HEAD ♦ -head ♦ Hope ♦ Lucy and Colin ♦ Redgauntlet ♦ STILTS ♦ Trite Expressions ♦ ultimatum, Urgan ♦ vertical curve ♦ Yvetot. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "brow": Ophryon. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Ban my brow! I'm from the South (Way Out West; writing credit: Felix Adler; Jack Jevne) | |
Lyrics | In the morning I wipe my brow (Twist in my Sobriety; performing artist: Tanita Tikaram) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
![]() | Henry Cabot Lodge holds hand to his brow while talking to Maj. Gen. Trân Van Dôn of South Vietnam. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | Water please!--Newark's newly-elected mayor, Hugh J. Addonizio, wipes brow after excitement of victory and talk to supporters here kast [ie,last] night at his campaign headquarters. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Watching you !" by Carl Dwyer Commentary: "Close up, macro shot of an eye brow, i wanted to concerntrate on the tip of the eye brow and not the center of the eye like normal, it gives the shot a bit more dynamics ; )." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
J. M. Synge | Lord, confound this surly sister, blight her brow with blotch and blister, cramp her larynx, lung and liver, in her guts a galling give her. |
Kiichi Miyazawa | I suspect that American workers have come to lack a work ethic. They do not live by the sweat of their brow. |
St. Jerome | No athlete is crowned but in the sweat of his brow. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
A Christmas Carol | Dickens, Charles | Scrooge shivered, and wiped the perspiration from his brow. |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | It had on its brow this star, Liberty |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | As he spoke he wrinkled a little his freckled brow and bit, between his phrases, at a tiny bone pencil |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | His stiff gray hair was mussed back from his brow as though he had combed it back with his fingers |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | It is not necessary that a man should earn his living by the sweat of his brow, unless he sweats easier than I do. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Or it's a dull ache above your brow after a day of stress and tension. (references) | |
Your teeth clench, your brow wrinkles, and soon you have a splitting tension headache. (references) | ||
Characteristic facial features may include an underdeveloped upper jaw bone (maxillary hypoplasia), an abnormally prominent brow, downslanting eyelid folds (palpebral fissures), widely spaced eyes (hypertelorism), large ears, and unusually thick eyebrows. (references) | ||
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | ULTIMATUM, n. In diplomacy, a last demand before resorting to concessions. Having received an ultimatum from Austria, the Turkish Ministry met to consider it. "O servant of the Prophet," said the Sheik of the Imperial Chibouk to the Mamoosh of the Invincible Army, "how many unconquerable soldiers have we in arms?" "Upholder of the Faith," that dignitary replied after examining his memoranda, "they are in numbers as the leaves of the forest!" "And how many impenetrable battleships strike terror to the hearts of all Christian swine?" he asked the Imaum of the Ever Victorious Navy. "Uncle of the Full Moon," was the reply, "deign to know that they are as the waves of the ocean, the sands of the desert and the stars of Heaven!" For eight hours the broad brow of the Sheik of the Imperial Chibouk was corrugated with evidences of deep thought: he was calculating the chances of war. Then, "Sons of angels," he said, "the die is cast! I shall suggest to the Ulema of the Imperial Ear that he advise inaction. In the name of Allah, the council is adjourned." |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Brow" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 99.75% of the time. "Brow" is used about 785 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 99.75% | 783 | 8,834 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.25% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 785 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "brow" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Brow | Last name | 400 | 20,360 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "brow": Beetle brow ♦ bend the brow ♦ brow of a hill ♦ by the sweat of one's brow ♦ eye brow ♦ have a cloud on one's brow ♦ knit one's brow ♦ low brow ♦ middle brow ♦ mop one's brow ♦ smooth the ruffled brow of care ♦ the sweat of one's brow ♦ To bend the brow. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "brow": brow-ague, brow-beat, brow-beaten, brow-beating, brow-knotting, brow-mopping, brow-ridged, brow-ridges, brow-rubbing, brow-touching. | |
Ending with "brow": middle-brow. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "brow"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | wenkbrou (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Albanian | vetull (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Arabic | ملامح (countenance, face, feature, features, lineaments, mien), حافة النحدر, حاجب (commissionaire, doorman, obstructive, secret), سيماء (countenance, mien, visage), طلعة (aspect, countenance, mien, presence, sally, visage), جبين (forehead, front). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | стръмен склон (escarp, scarp), чело (face, forehead, front), вежда (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Chinese | 眉头. (various references) | |
Czech | vrchol (acme, apex, cusp, height, heyday, peak, pink, pinnacle, summit, top, vertex, zenith), oboèí (eyebrow), èelo (coalface, forehead, front, head, headboard, vanguard). (various references) | |
Danish | øjenbryn (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Dutch | wenkbrauw (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Esperanto | brovo (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Faeroese | eygnabrúgv (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Farsi | پیشانی (Frontal), سیما (Air, Appearance, Aspect, Countenance, Expression, Feature, Mien, Visage), جبین , ابرو (Credit, Honor, Name, Prestige, Reputation). (various references) | |
Finnish | varastopaikka (bank ground, banking ground, dump, landing, log dump, processing yard, ramp, rampsite, skids, yard), varastoalue (bank ground, banking ground, dump, landing, log dump, processing yard, ramp, rampsite, skids, yard), puutavaravarasto (bank ground, banking ground, dump, landing, log dump, processing yard, ramp, rampsite, skids, yard), purkamisvarasto (bank ground, banking ground, dump, landing, log dump, processing yard, ramp, rampsite, skids, yard), otsa (forehead). (various references) | |
French | sourcil. (various references) | |
Frisian | wynbrau (eyebrow). (various references) | |
German | stirn (forehead, front), braue (eyebrow, supercilium), Augenbraue (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Greek | μέτωπο (forehead, front), φρύδι (eyebrow), άκρο (abutment, border, brim, butt, edge, end, extreme, extremity, foot, ledge, limb, Marge, Neb, peak, rim, tip, verge), οφρύσ (supercilium). (various references) | |
Hawaiian | vetull (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מצח (forehead), גבה (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Hungarian | szemöldök (brows, eyebrow, frown), homlok (brows, facial, forehead, front). (various references) | |
Indonesian | dahi (forehead), alis (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Italian | sopracciglio (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 額 (forehead), 額 (amount or sum, forehead, picture), 真っ向 (front, helmet front), 眉間 (area between the eyebrows, glabella, middle forehead), 眉宇 (brows), お凸 (forehead), 御凸 (forehead). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | おでこ (forehead), びう (a drizzle, brows, light rain), ひたい (forehead), まっこう (front, helmet front, incense, incense powder, the last paragraph), みけん (area between the eyebrows, glabella, middle forehead, unacquainted, unknown). (various references) | |
Korean | 눈섭. (various references) | |
Malay | alis (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Manx | mollee (eyebrow), malin (brae), gruaie (cheek, face, facet, grim countenance, profile, silhouette, temple). (various references) | |
Papiamen | seha (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | owbray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | sobrancelha (eyebrow), testa (forehead, testa). (various references) | |
Romanian | vârf de munte, sprânceanã (eyebrow, summit, top), margine de deal, frunte (elite, face, flower, forefront, forehead, front, head, top), expresie (articulation, cast, expression, formulary, locution, loose, mien, phrase, sneer, term), creastã (aigrette, back, comb, coping, crest, edge, height, hogback, knoll, razor edge, ridge, spine, top, tuft). (various references) | |
Russian | бровь (eyebrow, eye-brow). (various references) | |
Scottish | mala (eyebrow, pl. malaichean). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | obrva (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Spanish | ceja (eyebrow, flange). (various references) | |
Swedish | ögonbryn (eyebrow), panna (boiler, forehead, furnace, kettle, pan). (various references) | |
Tagalog | kílay (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Thai | ขมวดคิ้ว (knit, knit one's brow, lour). (various references) | |
Turkish | yamaç (Brae, declivity, fall, hillside, shoulder, slope), kenar (border, brim, brink, edge, flange, hem, lip, Marge, margin, rim, side, skirt, skirting, verge, Wale, wheal), kaş (eyebrow), alın (forehead, front, frontal, frontlet, tympan, tympanum). (various references) | |
Turkmen | maсlaя (forehead, frontal). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | чоло, вираз обличчя (countenance), брова (eyebrow). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | mày. (various references) | |
Welsh | ysgafell (ledge, shelf), talcen (forehead, gable), crib (comb, crest, ridge), ael (aisle, litter). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | frons, fronte, frontem, frontes, fronti, frontibus, frontium. (various references) |
| Old French | 900-1400 | front. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Luke Chapter 4, Verse 29 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Kai anastanteV exebalon auton exw thV polewV kai hgagon auton ewV thV ofruoV tou orouV ef ou h poliV autwn wkodomhto eiV to katakrhmnisai auton |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Et surrexerunt et eiecerunt illum extra civitatem et duxerunt illum usque ad supercilium montis supra quem civitas illorum erat aedificata ut praecipitarent eum |
| Old English | 990 | West Saxon | And hig arison and scufon hine of ðære ceastre. and læddon hine ofer ðæs muntes cnæpp: ofer þone hyra buruh getimbrud wæs: þæt hi hyne nyðer bescufon. |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And thei risen vp, and drouen hym out with out the citee, and ledden hym to the cop of the hil on which her citee was bildid, to caste hym doun. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And roose vp and thrust him oute of the cite and ledde him eve vnto the edge of the hill wher on their cite was bilte to cast him doune hedlynge. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And they got up and took him out of the town to the edge of the mountain on which their town was, so that they might send him down to his death. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Luke Chapter 4, Verse 29 |
| Cebuano | Ug sila nanindog ug ilang giabog siya paingon sa gawas sa lungsod ug gitaral ngadto sa kilid sa bungtod diin didto mahitukod ang ilang lungsod, aron ilang ihulog siya sa pangpang. |
| Chinese | 就 起 來 攆 他 出 城 、 他 們 的 城 造 在 山 上 、 他 們 帶 他 到 山 崖 、 要 把 他 推 下 去 。 |
| Croatian | ustanu, izbace ga iz grada i odvedu na rub brijega na kojem je sagraðen njihov grad da ga strmoglave. |
| Danish | Og de stode op og stødte ham ud af Byen og førte ham hen til Skrænten af det Bjerg, på hvilket deres By var bygget, for at styrte ham ned. |
| Dutch | En opstaande, wierpen zij Hem uit, buiten de stad, en leidden Hem op den top des bergs, op denwelken hun stad gebouwd was, om Hem van de steilte af te werpen. |
| Finnish | ja nousivat ja ajoivat hänet ulos kaupungista ja veivät hänet sen vuoren jyrkänteelle asti, jolle heidän kaupunkinsa oli rakennettu, syöstäkseen hänet alas. |
| French | Et s`étant levés, ils le chassèrent de la ville, et le menèrent jusqu`au sommet de la montagne sur laquelle leur ville était bâtie, afin de le précipiter en bas. |
| German | und standen auf und stießen ihn zur Stadt hinaus und führten ihn auf einen Hügel des Berges, darauf ihre Stadt gebaut war, daß sie ihn hinabstürzten. |
| Hungarian | És felkelvén, kiûzék õt a városon kívül és vivék õt annak a hegynek szélére, a melyen az õ városuk épült, hogy onnan letaszítsák. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Mereka berdiri lalu mengusir Yesus ke luar kota, dan membawa-Nya ke tebing gunung, di mana kota mereka dibangun. Mereka bermaksud mendorong Dia ke dalam jurang. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Lalu berbangkitlah mereka itu menolakkan Yesus ke luar negeri serta membawa Dia ke kemuncak gunung di mana negerinya dibangunkan, hendak menjatuhkan Dia ke bawah. |
| Maori | Na ko to ratou whakatikanga ake, ka maka i a ia ki waho o te pa, a arahina ana ia ki te pari o te puke i hanga ai to ratou pa, kia whakataka ai ia ki raro. |
| Norwegian | og de stod op og drev ham ut av byen og førte ham ut på brynet av det fjell som deres by var bygget på, for å styrte ham ned. |
| Portuguese | e, levantando-se, expulsaram-no da cidade e o levaram até o despenhadeiro do monte em que a sua cidade estava edificada, para dali o precipitarem. |
| Rumanian | Wi s`au sculat, L-au scos afarq din cetate, wi L-au dus pknq kn sprknceana muntelui, pe care era ziditq cetatea lor, ca sq -L arunce jos kn prqpastie. |
| Russian | Й, ЧУФБЧ, ЧЩЗОБМЙ еЗП ЧПО ЙЪ ЗПТПДБ Й РПЧЕМЙ ОБ ЧЕТЫЙОХ ЗПТЩ, ОБ ЛПФПТПК ЗПТПД ЙИ ВЩМ РПУФТПЕО, ЮФПВЩ УЧЕТЗОХФШ еЗП; |
| Shuar | Tura wajatkiar Jesusan jiiki péprunmaya akupkarmiayi. Tura pepru amia nui naint Yakí Nánkatkamunam, Nuyá akaki ajuatai tusar Júkiarmiayi. |
| Spanish | y se levantaron y le echaron fuera de la ciudad. Luego le llevaron hasta un precipicio del monte sobre el cual estaba edificada su ciudad, para despeñarle. |
| Swahili | Wakasimama, wakamtoa nje ya mji wao uliokuwa umejengwa juu ya kilima, wakampeleka mpaka kwenye ukingo wa kilima hicho ili wamtupe chini. |
| Swedish | och stodo upp och drevo honom ut ur staden och förde honom ända fram till branten av det berg som deras stad var byggd på, och ville störta honom därutför. |
| Uma | Pokore-rami mpopalai-i hilou hi mali ngata, pai' rakeni hilou hi bingke-na, apa' ngata-ra hi lolo bulu'. Patuju-ra ke mpotulaka-i hi bingke-na bona mate-i. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "brow": browband, browbands, browbeat, browbeaten, browbeating, browbeats, browed, browless, brown, browned, browner, brownest, brownfield, brownfields, brownie, brownier, brownies, browniest, browning, brownish, brownnose, brownnosed, brownnoser, brownnosers, brownnoses, brownnosing, brownout, brownouts, browns, brownshirt, brownshirts, brownstone, brownstones, browny, browridge, browridges, brows, browse, browsed, browser, browsers, browses, browsing. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "brow": eyebrow, highbrow, lowbrow, middlebrow. (additional references) | |
Words containing "brow": embrown, embrowned, embrowning, embrowns, eyebrows, highbrowed, highbrowism, highbrowisms, highbrows, imbrown, imbrowned, imbrowning, imbrowns, lowbrows, middlebrows, nutbrown, overbrowse, overbrowsed, overbrowses, overbrowsing. (additional references) | |
| |
"Brow" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: baow, Barmow, barow, borow, borq, bowk, bowr, braow, bravw, brewt, brewy, briw, Brlog, brno, broa, Broc, brod, Brodwof, broj, brok, brol, brom, bron, broo, brooa, broow, brooz, broq, Bror, brot, brou, brouw, browd, browe, browl, browm, browy, browz, brox, broy, broz, Brpo, brrod, Brso, burow, irow, krow, Mrow, vrow. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "brow" (pronounced brou") |
| 2 | -r ou" | prow. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "b-o-r-w" | |
-1 letter: bow, bro, orb, rob, row. | |
-2 letters: bo, or, ow, wo. | |
| Words containing the letters "b-o-r-w" | |
+1 letter: bower, brown, brows. | |
+2 letters: barlow, barrow, beworm, blower, borrow, bowers, bowery, bowler, bowyer, browed, browns, browny, browse, burrow, byword, bywork. | |
+3 letters: bagworm, barlows, barrows, becrowd, bestrow, beworms, beworry, blowers, blowier, borrows, bowered, bowlder, bowlers, bowyers, browned, browner, brownie, browsed, browser, browses, budworm, burrows, bywords, byworks, cowbird, cowherb, crowbar, embower, embrown, eyebrow, imbower, imbrown, lobworm, lowborn, lowbred, lowbrow, newborn, rainbow, ribwort, rowable, rowboat, rubdown, swobber, webwork, webworm, wobbler, wombier, workbag, workbox. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Familiar 10. Quotations: Fiction 11. Quotations: Non-fiction 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Names: Frequency 14. Expressions 15. Expressions: Internet 16. Translations: Modern | 17. Translations: Ancient 18. Bible Trace 19. Derivations 20. Rhymes | 21. Anagrams 22. Bibliography |
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