noun
bruin
BROO-in/brˈuɪn/
A bear.
The bruin's thick brown fur covers its powerful body.
Etymology
Middle Dutch bruin meant “brown” and supplied the bear's name in the Reynard the Fox fables. That character name became a literary name for a bear.
More examples
- A shaggy bruin appears on the old heraldic shield.
- The poem calls the sleepy bear a bruin.
- The illustrated fable shows a bruin arguing with a fox.
Forms
bruin · bruins
Similar words
- bear
- The ordinary term, while bruin is literary or traditional.