brownie

See also: Brownie

English
chocolate brownies (sense 1)
mythical brownies (sense 2)

Etymology

From brown +‎ -ie (“diminutive suffix”).

Pronunciation

Noun

brownie (plural brownies)

  1. (cooking) A small square piece of rich cake, usually made with chocolate.
    • 2000, Lori Gottlieb, Stick Figure: a diary of my former self, page 173,
      […] if she ever found out she was dying, she'd just eat brownies all day and night until the very end.
    • 2005, Aaron Lazare, On Apology, unnumbered page,
      On a Saturday afternoon, my wife bought her favorite treat for dessert that evening, a gourmet, nut-filled brownie.
    • 2005, Steve Otto, Memoirs of a Drugged-Up, Sex-Crazed Yippie, page 228,
      After cooking the brownies until we could smell the pot, we each ate a large brownie.
  2. (folklore) A mythical creature, a helpful elf who would secretly do people's housework for them.
    • 1908, Dinah Craik, The Adventures of A Brownie.
    • 1985, The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 1, page 636,
      Stories were told of a brownie riding horseback to fetch the midwife at childbirth or helping his master to win at checkers.
    • 2004, Justin Hocking, Jeffrey Knutson, Jared Jacang Maher (editors), Life and Limb: Skateboarders Write from the Deep End, page 37,
      There are no brownies in my house, though. I know because there's always a pile of dishes in the sink.
  3. (paganism) A household spirit or revered ancestor.
  4. Any of various lycaenid butterflies of the Eurasian genus Miletus.
  5. (Australia, New Zealand, colloquial) A tall, long-necked beer bottle, made from brown coloured glass.
  6. (ethnic slur, offensive) A person of Arab, Indian or Hispanic descent. Also rarely used for a Native American or Pacific Islander.
  7. (US) A girl in the first level of girl scouts.

Derived terms

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading

French

Etymology

Borrowed from English brownie.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /bʁo.ni/

Noun

brownie f (plural brownies)

  1. brownie (type of small chocolate cake)

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English brownie.

Noun

brownie m (plural brownies)

  1. brownie (type of small chocolate cake)

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from English brownie.

Noun

brownie m (plural brownies)

  1. brownie
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