brent I. \ˈbrent\adjective Etymology: Middle English brent, brant, from Old English brant; akin to Old Norse brattr steep, and probably to Old High German bor height, beran to bear — more at bear 1.dialect Britain: steep, precipitous 2.chiefly Scotland: smooth, unwrinkled < your bonny brow was brent — Robert Burns > II. orbrent goose variant of brant III. archaic past of burn