brazil

plural brazils · alternative brasil · alternative Brazil

1. obsoleteA red-orange dye obtained from brazil wood.First known use 14th–17th c.

   A small Quantity of Saffron will Tinct more then a very great Quantity of Brasil.

   1627, Francis Bacon, Sylva sylvarum

2. The hard, brown wood of a certain species of the tribe Caesalpinieae; originally sappan (Biancaea sappan), of the East Indies, and later brazilwood, Paubrasilia echinata.First known use 15th c.

   The Prouince Brasilia tooke his name of the woode called Brasill.

   1594, Thomas Blundeville, Exercises

   2 more examples

   Thou know'st my brittle temper's prone to break. Are my bones brazil or my flesh of oak?

   1886, Francis Quarles, Emblems

   [P]ernambucco – the finest brasil from Brazil, so strong it almost resembles iron – became the favoured material for good bows.

   2002, Victoria Finlay, Colour, Sceptre, published 2003, page 198

3. A Brazil nut.

   I picked up a handful of brazils from the bowl.

4. A seam of coal containing iron pyrites

alternative obsolete Brasil · alternative obsolete Brasill

1. A large Portuguese-speaking country in South America. Official name: Federative Republic of Brazil. Capital: Brasília.

   In February, a young man from an isolated Indigenous tribe in Brazil made brief contact with the outside world before returning to the Amazon rainforest.

   2025 April 4, Lex Harvey and Esha Mitra, “US tourist arrested after allegedly attempting to contact ‘world’s most isolated’ tribe”, in CNN

2. A city, the county seat of Clay County, Indiana, United States.

plural Brazils · alternative Brazzle · alternative obsolete Brasil · alternative obsolete Brasill

1. A surname from Irish.

   Julian Brazil, the leader of Devon County Council, told the BBC the party was "lacking ambition" and "not saying the things that people can relate to".

   2026 September 20, Harry Farley, “Lib Dems sleepwalking to irrelevance under Davey, says council leader”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 20 Sep 2026, retrieved 20 Sep 2026