# brownie

Pronunciation: say "BROW-nee" /ˈbɹaʊni/

## Noun

1. A small, rich, square cake, usually flavored with chocolate.
   - Simple: A small, square piece of sweet, rich cake, usually made with chocolate.
   - _He cut one warm brownie into quarters and shared it around the table._
   - _She baked a sheet of brownies for the school fundraiser._
2. Alternative letter-case form of Brownie.
   - Simple: Alternative spelling of Brownie. It is a young member of the Girl Scouts in the first level.
   - _Each brownie received a sash to pin her badges on._
   - _The youngest brownie in the group could barely tie her own shoes._
3. A helpful elf of folklore who secretly performs a household's chores for the people living there.
   - Simple: A friendly elf from old stories who secretly does housework while people sleep.
   - _According to the old tales, a brownie would tidy the kitchen before dawn._
   - _The farmer left out a bowl of milk to thank the brownie for its work._
4. A household spirit, or a revered ancestor honored within the home.
   - Simple: A spirit that protects a home, or a respected family member who has died.
   - _Some families set a place at the table for the household brownie._
   - _They poured a little ale onto the hearth for the brownie each evening._
5. A sweet loaf containing currants and sweetened with brown sugar. *(Australia, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A sweet bread made with brown sugar and small dried fruits called currants.
   - _The café served warm brownie spread thickly with butter._
   - _Her grandmother's brownie was studded with plump currants._
6. A tall beer bottle of brown glass with a long neck. *(colloquial, Australia, New Zealand)*
   - Simple: A tall beer bottle with a long neck, made of brown glass.
   - _He pulled a cold brownie from the esky and popped the cap._
   - _They left a row of empty brownies along the verandah rail._
7. A brown trout, the freshwater fish Salmo trutta. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A brown trout, a kind of freshwater fish.
   - _He landed a fat brownie from the river at dusk._
   - _The anglers released every brownie they caught that morning._
8. A derogatory term for a person with brown skin.
   - Simple: An offensive word for a person who has brown skin.
   - _Bigots in the crowd jeered at the players, calling them brownies._
   - _He grew up bristling whenever a stranger dismissed him as just another brownie._
9. Any brown copper coin, specifically a penny, halfpenny, or cent.
   - Simple: A copper coin such as a penny, named for its brown color.
   - _He dropped a few brownies into the beggar's cup._
   - _She fished a brownie out of her pocket to pay for the paper._
10. A widow rockfish, the fish Sebastes entomelas, of the family Sebastidae. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A widow rockfish, a kind of ocean fish.
   - _He filleted a brownie he had caught off the coast._
   - _The trawler hauled in a net heavy with brownies that morning._
11. Any of various butterflies in Miletus, an Asian genus of the lycaenid family.
   - Simple: A small butterfly from a group found across Europe and Asia.
   - _The collector pinned a brownie beside the other lycaenids in the case._
   - _A brownie settled on the leaf, its dull wings folded shut._

## Origin

Formed from "brown" plus the diminutive suffix "-ie". In its folkloric sense it was originally Scots; the young-scout sense may be compared with Dutch "kabouter" (literally "gnome").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/brownie (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).