English

Noun

brim ‎(plural brims)

1. (obsolete) The sea; ocean; water; flood.

Derived terms

• brimsand

Etymology 2

From Middle English brim, brem, brimme ‎(“margin, edge of a river, lake, or sea”), probably from Middle English brim ‎(“sea, ocean, surf, shore”). See above. Cognate with Dutch berm ‎(“bank, riverbank”), Bavarian Bräm ‎(“border, stripe”), German Bräme, Brame ‎(“border, edge”), Danish bræmme ‎(“border, edge, brim”), Swedish bräm ‎(“border, edge”), Icelandic barmur ‎(“edge, verge, brink”). Related to berm.

Noun

brim ‎(plural brims)

1. An edge or border (originally specifically of the sea or a body of water).
   • Bible, Josh. iii. 15

     The feet of the priest that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water.

2. The topmost rim or lip of a container.

   The toy box was filled to the brim with stuffed animals.

   • Coleridge:

     Saw I that insect on this goblet's brim / I would remove it with an anxious pity.

3. A projecting rim, especially of a hat.

   He turned the back of his brim up stylishly.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wordsworth to this entry?)

Derived terms

• to the brim

Translations

Verb

brim ‎(third-person singular simple present brims, present participle brimming, simple past and past participle brimmed)

1. To be full to overflowing.

   The room brimmed with people.

   • 2006 New York Times

     It was a hint of life in a place that still brims with memories of death, a reminder that even five years later, the attacks are not so very distant.

   • 2011 July 3, Piers Newbury, “Wimbledon 2011: Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal in final”, in BBC Sport:

     Djokovic, brimming with energy and confidence, needed little encouragement and came haring in to chase down a drop shot in the next game, angling away the backhand to break before turning to his supporters to celebrate.

2. (transitive) To fill to the brim, upper edge, or top.
   • Tennyson:

     Arrange the board and brim the glass.

Translations

Etymology 3

Either from breme, or directly from Old English bremman ‎(“to roar, rage”) (though not attested in Middle English).

Verb

brim ‎(third-person singular simple present brims, present participle brimming, simple past and past participle brimmed)

1. Of pigs: to be in heat, to rut.

Etymology 4

See breme.

Adjective

brim ‎(comparative more brim, superlative most brim)

1. (obsolete) Fierce; sharp; cold.

Anagrams

• IBMR
• IRBM

Old English

Pronunciation

Noun

brim n

1. (poetic) the edge of the sea or a body of water
2. (poetic) surf; the surface of the sea
3. (poetic) sea, ocean, water

Declension

Derived terms

• brimlīþend