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Brownie
Definitions
- 1 A nickname of the surname Brown.
- 1 A small square piece of rich cake, usually made with chocolate. countable, usually
"Order for the brownie was placed but it took half an hour to prepare it."
- 2 A junior Girl Guide. Australia, British, Canada
"1958 July 14, Boot by a Brash Brownie, LIFE, page 124, In Toronto young Brownies of the Girl Guides, the Canadian girl scouts, stood in parade formation with full-fledged Guides."
- 3 square or bar of very rich chocolate cake usually with nuts wordnet
- 4 A sweet bread with brown sugar and currants. Australia, New-Zealand, uncountable
"It was an amusing sight to see the three of us, each with a huge hunch of “browny” (bread sweetened with brown sugar and currants) in one hand, and a lump of ice in the other, for there was no water within reach."
- 5 A junior Girl Scout. US
"1952 March 24, Girl Scouts: They Are Observing Their 40th Birthday, LIFE, page 109, Any girl willing to follow the simple rules can join the Girl Scouts. As Brownies they will spend most of their time playing games and singing songs like the Brownie Smile Song: “I′ve something in my pocket; It belongs across my face, And I keep it very close at hand In a most convenient place.... I′m sure you couldn′t guess it If you guessed a long, long while, So I′ll take it out and put it on—It′s a great big Brownie smile!”"
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 (folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous wordnet
- 7 A mythical creature, a helpful elf who would secretly do people's housework for them. countable, uncountable
"Thus, offer Brownie a piece of bread, a cup of drink, or a new coat and hood, and he flouted at it, and perhaps, in his huff, quitted the place for ever ; but leave a nice bowl of cream, and some fresh honeycomb, in a snug private corner, and they soon disappeared, though Brownie, it was to be supposed, never knew any thing of them."
- 8 a junior Girl Scout wordnet
- 9 A copper coin, brown in colour; a penny, halfpenny, or cent. countable, uncountable
"He rose and jingled in his pockets for change and drew out two brownies. He went and set one on each of Monroe’s eyes[.]"
- 10 A household spirit or revered ancestor. countable, uncountable
- 11 Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the Eurasian genus Miletus. countable, uncountable
- 12 A brown trout (Salmo trutta). countable, informal, uncountable
- 13 A widow rockfish (Sebastes entomelas), a fish in the family Sebastidae. countable, informal, uncountable
"Depending upon the species, fishers may harvest along the ocean floor for many rockfish and other groundfish, while hake, pollock, and some rockfish species (i.e. greenies and brownies) are targeted with mid-water trawls."
- 14 Alternative letter-case form of Brownie (“a girl in the first level of Girl Guides (US: Girl Scouts)”). alt-of, countable, uncountable
- 15 A tall, long-necked beer bottle, made from brown coloured glass. Australia, New-Zealand, colloquial, countable, uncountable
- 16 A person with brown skin. countable, ethnic, offensive, slur, uncountable
Etymology
From brown + -ie (diminutive suffix). In folkloric sense, originally Scots. For sense 7, compare with Dutch kabouter (“a very young female member of the scout movement”) (literally "gnome").
From brownie (“a helpful elf”). Specifically, inspired by the story "The Brownies" by Juliana Horatia Ewing (published in 1870, The Brownies and Other Tales), in which two children, Tommy and Betty, learn that children can be helpful brownies or lazy boggarts. But compare with Dutch kabouter (“a very young female member of the scout movement”) (literally, a "gnome").
From Brown + -ie.
See also for "brownie"
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