*brit*

{ } v. t. To be or become overripe, as wheat, barley, or hops. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From L. Britannia Great Britain. ] A white-metal alloy of tin, antimony, bismuth, copper, etc. It somewhat resembles silver, and is used for table ware. Called also Britannia metal. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. Britannicus, fr. Britannia Great Britain. ] Of or pertaining to Great Britain; British; as, her Britannic Majesty. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. the Jewish rite of circumcision.
Syn. -- Berith, Bris. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A word, phrase, or idiom peculiar to Great Britain; any manner of using a word or words that is peculiar to Great Britain. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ AS. Brittisc, Bryttisc. ] Of or pertaining to Great Britain or to its inhabitants; -- sometimes restricted to the original inhabitants. [ 1913 Webster ]

British gum, a brownish substance, very soluble in cold water, formed by heating dry starch at a temperature of about 600° Fahr. It corresponds, in its properties, to dextrin, and is used, in solution, as a substitute for gum in stiffering goods. --
British lion, the national emblem of Great Britain. --
British seas, the four seas which surround Great Britain. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. People of Great Britain. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An Englishman; a subject or inhabitant of Great Britain, esp. one in the British military or naval service. [ Now used jocosely ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. an expression that is limited to English as spoken by Englishmen (especially as contrasted with American English).
Syn. -- Anglicism, Briticism. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a custom that is peculiar to England or its citizens.
Syn. -- Anglicism. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ AS. bryten Britain. ] British. [ Obs. ] Spenser. -- n. A native of Great Britain. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the people of Great Britain. [ informal ]
Syn. -- British, British people, the British. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } n. (Zool.) (a) The young of the common herring; also, a small species of herring; the sprat. (b) The minute marine animals (chiefly Entomostraca) upon which the right whales feed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. the young of a herring or sprat or similar fish.
Syn. -- brit. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. minute crustaceans, forming food for right whales.
Syn. -- brit. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ OE. britel, brutel, AS. bryttian to dispense, fr. breótan to break; akin to Icel. brytja, Sw. bryta, Dan. bryde. Cf. Brickle. ] Easily broken; apt to break; fragile; not tough or tenacious. [ 1913 Webster ]

Farewell, thou pretty, brittle piece
Of fine-cut crystal. Cotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Brittle silver ore, the mineral stephanite. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. fragrant rounded shrub of SW US and adjacent Mexico having brittle stems and small crowded blue-green leaves and yellow flowers; produces a resin used in incense and varnish and in folk medicine.
Syn. -- brittle bush, incienso, Encelia farinosa. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. In a brittle manner. Sherwood. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Aptness to break; fragility. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) Any species of ophiuran starfishes. See Ophiuroidea. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Russ. britshka; cf. Pol. bryczka, dim. of bryka freight wagon. ] A long carriage, with a calash top, so constructed as to give space for reclining at night, when used on a journey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Cabrée. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A Welshman. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Celebrities [ L. celebritas: cf. F. célébrité. ] 1. Celebration; solemnization. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The celebrity of the marriage. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state or condition of being celebrated; fame; renown; as, the celebrity of Washington. [ 1913 Webster ]

An event of great celebrity in the history of astronomy. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A person of distinction or renown; -- usually in the plural; as, he is one of the celebrities of the place. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. E. cerebrum + -itis. ] (Med.) Inflammation of the cerebrum. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. crebritudo, fr. creber close. ] Frequency. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. aequilibritas equal distribution. See Equilibrium. ] The state of being balanced; equality of weight. [ R. ] J. Gregory. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. glabritas. ] Smoothness; baldness. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Lack of celebrity or distinction; obscurity. [ R. ] Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Indo- + Briton. ] A person born in India, of mixed Indian and British blood; a half-caste. Malcom. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. insalubrite. ] Unhealthfulness; unwholesomeness; as, the insalubrity of air, water, or climate. Boyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. muliebritas, fr. muliebris belonging to a woman, fr. mulier a woman. ] 1. The state of being a woman or of possessing full womanly powers; womanhood; -- correlate of virility. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: Effeminancy; softness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. quebrit, quibrith, Ar. kibrīt. ] (Alchemy) Sulphur. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]