Etymology: Origin unknown. With sense 2 compare earlier bret n. 2. Compare earlier (denoting a different fish) bret n. 1, birt n.

Etymology: < Hebrew bĕrīṯ, short for bĕrīṯ milāh covenant of circumcision (see brit milah n.). Compare bris n.In plural form britot after the Hebrew plural form bĕriṯoṯ.

Etymology: As noun shortened < British n. or Briton n. As adjective shortened < British adj.

Etymology: Originally shortened from the name of the British Record Industry Awards (the name originally given to the prizes), and probably influenced also by the first three initial letters of this name. Compare earlier Brit n.³ and also Brit- comb. form.The name was formally adopted by the British Phonographic Industry in 1989, and is now often interpreted as an abbreviation of Britannia n., with reference to the statuette of Britannia awarded to each winner from that date onwards.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Icelandic brytja to chop in pieces, Norwegian regional (Nynorsk) brytja to divide up, causative formation < a different ablaut grade (zero grade) of the same Germanic base as Old English brēotan to kill, destroy (see brit v.²); in later use probably influenced by the early Scandinavian cognate (compare the North Germanic forms cited above). Compare britten v.In Old English the prefixed form gebryttian to dispense, apportion (compare y- prefix) is also attested.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Icelandic breyta to alter, change, Old Swedish bröta to clear land (especially for making a path), a weak verb < a Germanic base with the sense ‘to break’, also represented by the strong verbs Old English brēotan to destroy, kill, Old Icelandic brjóta , Old Swedish bryta (Swedish bryta ), Danish bryde , all in sense ‘to break, destroy’, probably ultimately (with a different extension) < the same Indo-European base as Old English brȳsan to crush, bruise (see bruise v.). Compare brittle adj.The β. forms may have resulted from shortened variants before double consonants in inflected forms in Middle English (e.g. 3rd singular present indicative brytt ); they were perhaps also influenced by association with brit v.¹ Compare also rare English regional (north-western) brit to break (one isolated attestation; probably the reflex of a borrowing < early Scandinavian):1856 R. Ferguson Northmen Cumberland & Westmoreland. 206 Brit, to break or bruise. In Old English the prefixed form gebrȳtan (compare y- prefix) is also attested in the same senses; compare also abrȳtan to crush, to destroy (compare a- prefix¹), forbrȳtan to break to pieces, to crush, to overcome, to destroy (compare for- prefix¹), and tōbrȳtan to crush, to break to pieces, to destroy, to afflict grievously (compare to- prefix²).

Etymology: Origin uncertain; probably the same word as either brit v.¹ or brit v.²