brass

• n. 黄铜；黄铜制品；铜管乐器；厚脸皮
• n. (Brass)人名；(英、法、德)布拉斯

词源同burn, 燃烧。由铜和锡冶炼而成。

brass

brass: [OE] Related forms occur in one or two other Germanic languages (such as Middle Low German bras, which meant simply ‘metal’), but essentially brass is a mystery word, of unknown ancestry. Its association with ‘effrontery’ begins in the late 16th century, prefigured by Shakespeare’s ‘face of brass’ in Love’s Labours Lost 1580, and by the first instances of the use of the derived adjective brazen to mean ‘shameless’ (the underlying notion is probably of a face as hard as brass, and therefore unable to show shame). Brass ‘high-ranking people’, as in top brass, comes from brass hat [19], a derogatory slang term for a senior military officer with golden insignia on his cap.

brass (n.)

Old English bræs "brass, bronze," originally in reference to an alloy of copper and tin (now bronze), later and in modern use an alloy of two parts copper, one part zinc. A mystery word, with no known cognates beyond English. Perhaps akin to French brasser "to brew," because it is an alloy. It also has been compared to Old Swedish brasa "fire," but no sure connection can be made. Yet another theory connects it with Latin ferrum "iron," itself of obscure origin.

As brass was unknown in antiquity, use of the word in Bible translations, etc., likely means "bronze." The Romans were the first to deliberately make it. Words for "brass" in other languages (such as German Messing, Old English mæsling, French laiton, Italian ottone) also tend to be difficult to explain.

The meaning "effrontery, impudence" is from 1620s. Slang sense of "high officials" is first recorded 1899. The brass tacks that you get down to (1897) probably are the ones used to measure cloth on the counter of a dry goods store, suggesting precision. Slang brass balls "toughness, courage" (emphatically combining two metaphors for the same thing) attested by 1960s.

1. " Brass " is slang for " money ".

“ brass ” 是 “ money ” 一词的俚语.

来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2. He once again raised his baton and brought in the brass.

他再次举起指挥棒，让铜管乐部加入进来。

来自柯林斯例句

3. They are available in polished brass, antique brass or silver-plate.

它们有哑铜的，古铜的和镀银的。

来自柯林斯例句

4. Copper, brass and aluminium are separated and remelted for reuse.

铜、黄铜和铝被分门别类重新熔化以进行再利用。

来自柯林斯例句

5. I felt loath to sully the gleaming brass knocker by handling it.

我不愿意伸手去抓那闪亮的黄铜门环，怕把它弄脏。

来自柯林斯例句