brit

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈbrit 

variants or less commonly britt

: minute marine animals (such as crustaceans and pteropods) on which right whales feed

Brit

2 of 3

noun (2)

ˈbrit 

: briton sense 2

Brit

3 of 3

abbreviation

Britain; British

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

of obscure origin

Note: The word was applied earlier to the fry of herring and sprat. The attribution to Cornish brȳthel "mackerel" in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged (1961) and American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition (2020) is improbable on both phonetic and semantic grounds. R. Morton Nance (A Glossary of Cornish Sea-Words, Federation of Old Cornwall Societies, 1963) notes that the word was initially peculiar to Cornwall and north Devon, but seemingly not of Celtic origin.

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1851, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1884, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing brit

• Brit Milah
• Gt Brit