breast
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English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
- brest (obsolete)
Etymology[edit]
From Middle English brest, from Old English brēost, from Proto-West Germanic *breust, from Proto-Germanic *breustą, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrews- (“to swell”). Compare West Frisian boarst, Danish bryst, Swedish bröst; cf. also Dutch borst, German Brust.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
breast (plural breasts)
- (anatomy) Either of the two organs on the front of a female human's chest, which contain the mammary glands; also the analogous organs in males.
- Tanya's breasts grew remarkably during pregnancy.
- (anatomy) The chest, or front of the human thorax.
- 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
- The Wedding-Guest here beat his breast, / For he heard the loud bassoon.
- 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
- A section of clothing covering the breast area.
- 1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 45:
- By the time he reached the War Memorial damp had soaked through the breasts of his shirt.
- The figurative seat of the emotions, feelings etc.; one's heart or innermost thoughts.
- She kindled hope in the breast of all who heard her.
- 1613, William Shakespeare; [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act III, scene ii]:
- He has a loyal breast.
- 1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii]:
- […] Thou best know'st
What torment I did find thee in. Thy groans
Did make wolves howl, and penetrate the breasts
Of ever-angry bears— it was a torment
To lay upon the damn'd, which Sycorax
Could not again undo. It was mine art,
When I arrived and heard thee, that made gape
The pine and let thee out.
- 1697, [William] Congreve, The Mourning Bride, a Tragedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], OCLC 228728136, Act I, page 1:
- Muſick has Charms to ſooth a ſavage Breaſt, / To ſoften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
- The ventral portion of an animal's thorax.
- The robin has a red breast.
- A choice cut of poultry, especially chicken or turkey, taken from the bird’s breast; also a cut of meat from other animals, breast of mutton, veal, pork.
- Would you like breast or wing?
- The front or forward part of anything.
- a chimney breast; a plough breast
- 1646 (indicated as 1645), John Milton, Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], OCLC 606951673:
- Mountains on whose barren breast / The labouring clouds do often rest.
- 2015 April 7, Jeff Howell, “The secret of longer lasting tiles [print version: How to avoid cracking up, 4 April 2015, p. P7]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Property)[1], archived from the original on 22 April 2015:
- If you burn wood on its own, the flue gases are cooler than from a coal fire. This can result in tars condensing out within the parging and brickwork of the flue, sometimes causing brown or yellow staining on upstairs chimney breasts.
- (mining) The face of a coal working.
- (mining) The front of a furnace.
- (obsolete) The power of singing; a musical voice.
- c. 1601–1602, William Shakespeare, “Twelfe Night, or VVhat You VVill”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act II, scene iii]:
- By my troth, the fool has an excellent breast.
- (swimming) The breaststroke.
Synonyms[edit]
- (female organs): See also Thesaurus:breasts
- (chest): chest
- (seat of emotions): heart, soul
- (cut of poultry): white meat
- (cut of meat): brisket
Antonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
milk-producing organ
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chest
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section of clothing covering the breast area
seat of emotions
animal's thorax
choice cut of meat from poultry or other animals
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- 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
Verb[edit]
breast (third-person singular simple present breasts, present participle breasting, simple past and past participle breasted)
- (transitive, often figuratively) To push against with the breast; to meet full on, oppose, face.
- 1817, William Wirt, Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry[2], page 22:
- […] when the court, very much to the credit of their candour and firmness, breasted the popular current by sustaining the demurrer.
- To reach the top (of a hill).
- He breasted the hill and saw the town before him.
- 1960 March, Cecil J. Allen, “Locomotive Running Past and Present”, in Trains Illustrated, page 178:
- But this was excelled by the remarkable feat of Iron Duke, on the second run, in accelerating from a dead start at Miller's Dale up 1 in 90 to no less than 53 m.p.h. before breasting the summit at Peak Forest.
- (transitive, cooking) To debreast.
- 2005, Texas Judicial Cookbook: Hello There!
- Breast the birds; wash and dry well. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the birds in a roasting pan.
- 2005, Texas Judicial Cookbook: Hello There!
Translations[edit]
to meet full on
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Anagrams[edit]
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- English terms inherited from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɛst
- Rhymes:English/ɛst/1 syllable
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Anatomy
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- en:Mining
- English terms with obsolete senses
- en:Swimming
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- en:Cooking
- en:Cuts of meat