*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of brig

Abbreviated from brigantine, from Italian brigantino; in sense “jail”, from the use of such ships as prisons.

4 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 4 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1 · variant 1/2

Original entry ↗
noun

A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on both foremast and mainmast. · A jail or guardhouse, especially in a naval military prison or jail on a ship, navy base, or (in fiction) spacecraft.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Abbreviated from brigantine, from Italian brigantino; in sense “jail”, from the use of such ships as prisons.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "brigantino"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian brigantino"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "brigantine",
      "brigantine#English"
    ],
    [
      "brigantino",
      "brigantino#Italian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "word": "brick",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ],
      "descendants": [
        {
          "lang": "Romanian",
          "lang_code": "ro",
          "word": "bric",
          "raw_tags": [
            "borrowed"
          ]
        },
        {
          "lang": "Ottoman Turkish",
          "lang_code": "ota",
          "word": "بریق",
          "raw_tags": [
            "borrowed"
          ],
          "roman": "brik",
          "descendants": [
            {
              "lang": "Turkish",
              "lang_code": "tr",
              "word": "brik"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Irish",
      "lang_code": "ga",
      "word": "bruig",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "word": "brigue",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    },
    {
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "word": "bricbarca",
      "raw_tags": [
        "reshaped by analogy or addition of morphemes"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A two-masted vessel, square-rigged on both foremast and mainmast.",
        "A jail or guardhouse, especially in a naval military prison or jail on a ship, navy base, or (in fiction) spacecraft."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 1 · variant 2/2

Original entry ↗
verb

To merely pretend to be occupied, to lollygag. · To jail, to confine into the guardhouse.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Abbreviated from brigantine, from Italian brigantino; in sense “jail”, from the use of such ships as prisons.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "it",
        "3": "brigantino"
      },
      "expansion": "Italian brigantino"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "brigantine",
      "brigantine#English"
    ],
    [
      "brigantino",
      "brigantino#Italian"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To merely pretend to be occupied, to lollygag.",
        "To jail, to confine into the guardhouse."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "dated"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Bridge.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Scots brig, from Old Norse bryggja, from Proto-Germanic *brugjǭ. Doublet of bridge.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sco",
        "3": "brig"
      },
      "expansion": "Scots brig"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "bryggja"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse bryggja"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*brugjǭ"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *brugjǭ"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "bridge"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of bridge"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "brig",
      "brig#Scots"
    ],
    [
      "bryggja",
      "bryggja#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*brugjǭ",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/brugjǭ"
    ],
    [
      "bridge",
      "bridge#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Bridge."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Northern-England",
        "Northern-Ireland",
        "Scotland"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
noun

Brigadier.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Clipping of brigadier.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "clipping",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "brigadier"
      },
      "expansion": "Clipping of brigadier"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "brigadier",
      "brigadier#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Brigadier."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for brig →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-YnJpZw