brough

What it means

1. A halo or luminous disk or ring seen around the sun or moon, and in folklore considered to portend a rainstorm.

   ... broughs which appeared around the moon […]

   1955, British Bee Journal

   4 more examples

   […] about the moon , called a brough, stormy weather is looked for within twenty-four hours; hence it is said, "a far off brough and a near hand storm." If small floating white clouds appear, which are called cat hair, rain is[…]

   1832, Samuel MacSkimin, The History and Antiquities of the County of the Town of Carrickfergus: From the Earliest Records to the Present Time ; Also a Statistical Survey of Said County, page 271

   The corona or brough occurs when the sun or moon is seen through a thin cirro-stratus cloud, the portion of the cloud more immediately around the sun or moon appearing much lighter than the rest.

   1852, Henry Stephens, The Book of the Farm: Detailing the Labors of the Farmer, Steward, Plowman, Hedger, Cattle-man, Shepherd, Field-worker, and Dairyman

   The County Antrim farmers say that bad weather may be expected whenever the new moon appears "on her back, with the new moon in her arms, and a brough round her," meaning by this the appearance[…]

   1859, Robert Macadam, Francis Joseph Bigger, Robert Magill Young, Ulster Journal of Archæology ..., page 84

   Swainson, in his Weather Folklore, quotes: About the moon there is a brough, The weather will be cauld and rough.

   1912, Chambers's Journal, page 527

In a sentence

[…] about the moon , called a brough, stormy weather is looked for within twenty-four hours; hence it is said, "a far off brough and a near hand storm." If small floating white clouds appear, which are called cat hair, rain is[…]

1832, Samuel MacSkimin, The History and Antiquities of the County of the Town of Carrickfergus: From the Earliest Records to the Present Time ; Also a Statistical Survey of Said County, page 271

Where it comes from

A metathetic form of burgh (“mound, settlement”) employed in a special sense; thus a doublet of it, borough, Brough, burr (“halo, brough”), burrow, and Bury. For the semantic development, compare German Hof (“brough, halo, nimb”).