Brit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɹɪt/
• Rhymes: -ɪt

From Middle English brytten, brutten, from Old English brittian, bryttian ("to divide, dispense, distribute, rule over, possess, enjoy the use of"), from Proto-Germanic *brutjaną ("to break, divide"), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreud- ("to break"). Cognate with Icelandic brytja ("to chop up, break in pieces, slaughter"), Swedish bryta ("to break, fracture, cut off"), Danish bryde ("to break") and Albanian brydh ("I make crumbly, friable, soft"). Related to Old English brytta ("dispenser, giver, author, governor, prince"), Old English brēotan ("to break in pieces, hew down, demolish, destroy, kill").

Alternative forms

• britt
• brite dialectal

Full definition of brit

Verb

1. (transitive) To break in pieces; divide.
2. (transitive) To bruise; indent.
3. (intransitive) To fall out or shatter (as overripe hops or grain).
4. (intransitive, dialectal) To fade away; alter.

Derived terms

• britten
• brittle

Probably from Middle English bret or birt, applied to a different kind of fish. See bret.

Alternative forms

• britt

Noun

1. One of the young of herrings, sprats etc
2. One of the tiny crustaceans, of the genus , that are part of the diet of right whales.

Short for brit milah.

Noun

1. brit milah----