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Brain definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BRAIN, n. [Gr. properly the fore part of the head or sinciput, also the brain.]
1. That soft whitish mass,or viscus,inclosed in the cranium or skull, in which the nerves and spinal marrow terminate, and which is supposed to be the seat of the soul or intelligent principle in man. It is divided above into a right and left hemisphere, and below into six lobes. It is composed of a cortical substance, which is external, and a medullary, which is internal. From the brain proceed nine pair of nerves, which are distributed principally to the head and neck.
2. The understanding.
3. The affections; fancy; imagination. [Unusual.]
BRAIN, v.t. To dash out the brains; to kill by beating out the brains.
1. To conceive; to understand. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: that part of the central nervous system that includes all the higher nervous centers; enclosed within the skull; continuous with the spinal cord [syn: brain, encephalon]
2: mental ability; "he's got plenty of brains but no common sense" [syn: brain, brainpower, learning ability, mental capacity, mentality, wit]
3: that which is responsible for one's thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason; "his mind wandered"; "I couldn't get his words out of my head" [syn: mind, head, brain, psyche, nous]
4: someone who has exceptional intellectual ability and originality; "Mozart was a child genius"; "he's smart but he's no Einstein" [syn: genius, mastermind, brain, brainiac, Einstein]
5: the brain of certain animals used as meat v
1: hit on the head
2: kill by smashing someone's skull

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English brægen; akin to Middle Low German bregen brain, and perhaps to Greek brechmos front part of the head Date: before 12th century 1. a. the portion of the vertebrate central nervous system enclosed in the skull and continuous with the spinal cord through the foramen magnum that is composed of neurons and supporting and nutritive structures (as glia) and that integrates sensory information from inside and outside the body in controlling autonomic function (as heartbeat and respiration), in coordinating and directing correlated motor responses, and in the process of learning — compare forebrain, hindbrain, midbrain b. a nervous center in invertebrates comparable in position and function to the vertebrate brain 2. a. (1) intellect, mind <has a clever brain> (2) intellectual endowment ; intelligence — often used in plural <plenty of brains in that family> b. (1) a very intelligent or intellectual person (2) the chief planner of an organization or enterprise — usually used in plural <she's the brains behind their success> 3. something that performs the functions of a brain; especially an automatic device (as a computer) for control or computation II. transitive verb Date: 14th century 1. to kill by smashing the skull 2. to hit on the head

Britannica Concise

Concentration of nerve tissue in the front or upper end of an animal's body that handles sensory information, controls motion, is vital to instinctive acts, and in higher vertebrates is the center of learning. Vertebrate brains consist of the hindbrain (rhombencephalon), midbrain (mesencephalon), and forebrain (prosencephalon). The hindbrain comprises the medulla oblongata and the pons, which connects the spinal cord with higher brain levels and transfers information from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum. The midbrain, a major sensory integration center in other vertebrates, serves primarily to link the hindbrain and forebrain in mammals. Large nerve bundles connect the cerebellum to the medulla, pons, and midbrain. In the forebrain, the two cerebral hemispheres are connected by a thick bundle of nerve fibers (corpus callosum) and are divided by two deep grooves into four lobes (frontal, parietal, temporal, and occipital). The cerebrum, the largest part of the human brain, is involved with its more complex functions. Motor and sensory nerve fibers from each hemisphere cross over in the medulla to control the opposite side of the body.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 an organ of soft nervous tissue contained in the skull of vertebrates, functioning as the coordinating centre of sensation, and of intellectual and nervous activity. 2 (in pl.) the substance of the brain, esp. as food. 3 a a person's intellectual capacity (has a poor brain). b (often in pl.) intelligence; high intellectual capacity (has a brain; has brains). 4 (in pl.; prec. by the) colloq. a the cleverest person in a group. b a person who originates a complex plan or idea (the brains behind the robbery). 5 an electronic device with functions comparable to those of a brain. --v.tr. 1 dash out the brains of. 2 strike hard on the head. Phrases and idioms: brain-dead suffering from brain death. brain death irreversible brain damage causing the end of independent respiration, regarded as indicative of death. brain drain colloq. the loss of skilled personnel by emigration. brain fever inflammation of the brain. brain-pan colloq. the skull. brain stem the central trunk of the brain, upon which the cerebrum and cerebellum are set, and which continues downwards to form the spinal cord. brains (US brain) trust a group of experts who give impromptu answers to questions, usu. publicly. brain-teaser (or -twister) colloq. a puzzle or problem. brain trust US a group of expert advisers. on the brain colloq. obsessively in one's thoughts. Etymology: OE brægen f. WG

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brain Brain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Brained; p. pr. & vb. n. Braining.] 1. To dash out the brains of; to kill by beating out the brains. Hence, Fig.: To destroy; to put an end to; to defeat. There thou mayst brain him. --Shak. It was the swift celerity of the death . . . That brained my purpose. --Shak. 2. To conceive; to understand. [Obs.] ?T is still a dream, or else such stuff as madmen Tongue, and brain not. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Brain Brain, n. [OE. brain, brein, AS. bragen, br[ae]gen; akin to LG. br["a]gen, bregen, D. brein, and perh. to Gr. ?, the upper part of head, if ? =?. [root]95.] 1. (Anat.) The whitish mass of soft matter (the center of the nervous system, and the seat of consciousness and volition) which is inclosed in the cartilaginous or bony cranium of vertebrate animals. It is simply the anterior termination of the spinal cord, and is developed from three embryonic vesicles, whose cavities are connected with the central canal of the cord; the cavities of the vesicles become the central cavities, or ventricles, and the walls thicken unequally and become the three segments, the fore-, mid-, and hind-brain. Note: In the brain of man the cerebral lobes, or largest part of the forebrain, are enormously developed so as to overhang the cerebellum, the great lobe of the hindbrain, and completely cover the lobes of the midbrain. The surface of the cerebrum is divided into irregular ridges, or convolutions, separated by grooves (the so-called fissures and sulci), and the two hemispheres are connected at the bottom of the longitudinal fissure by a great transverse band of nervous matter, the corpus callosum, while the two halves of the cerebellum are connected on the under side of the brain by the bridge, or pons Varolii. 2. (Zo["o]l.) The anterior or cephalic ganglion in insects and other invertebrates. 3. The organ or seat of intellect; hence, the understanding. `` My brain is too dull.'' --Sir W. Scott. Note: In this sense, often used in the plural. 4. The affections; fancy; imagination. [R.] --Shak. To have on the brain, to have constantly in one's thoughts, as a sort of monomania. [Low] Brain box or case, the bony on cartilaginous case inclosing the brain. Brain coral, Brain stone coral (Zo["o]l), a massive reef-building coral having the surface covered by ridges separated by furrows so as to resemble somewhat the surface of the brain, esp. such corals of the genera M[ae]andrina and Diploria. Brain fag (Med.), brain weariness. See Cerebropathy. Brain fever (Med.), fever in which the brain is specially affected; any acute cerebral affection attended by fever. Brain sand, calcareous matter found in the pineal gland.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(brains) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Your brain is the organ inside your head that controls your body's activities and enables you to think and to feel things such as heat and pain. Her father died of a brain tumour. N-COUNT 2. Your brain is your mind and the way that you think. Once you stop using your brain you soon go stale... Stretch your brain with this puzzle. = mind, intellect N-COUNT: usu poss N 3. If someone has brains or a good brain, they have the ability to learn and understand things quickly, to solve problems, and to make good decisions. I had a good brain and the teachers liked me. N-COUNT 4. If someone is the brains behind an idea or an organization, he or she had that idea or makes the important decisions about how that organization is managed. (INFORMAL) Mr White was the brains behind the scheme... Some investigators regarded her as the brains of the gang. N-COUNT: usu pl, the N behind/of n 5. If you pick someone's brains, you ask them to help you with a problem because they know more about the subject than you. (INFORMAL) Why should a successful company allow another firm to pick its brains? PHRASE: V inflects 6. to rack your brains: see rack

Foolish Dictionary

The top-floor apartment in the Human Block, known as the Cranium, and kept by the Sarah Sisters--Sarah Brum and Sarah Belum, assisted by Medulla Oblongata. All three are nervous, but are always confined to their cells. The Brain is done in gray and white, and furnished with light and heat, hot or cold water, (if desired), with regular connections to the outside world by way of the Spinal Circuit. Usually occupied by the Intellect Bros.,-- Thoughts and Ideas--as an Intelligence Office, but sometimes sub- let to Jag, Hang-Over & Co.

Moby Thesaurus

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