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brig (n.)
"two-masted square-rigged vessel," 1720, colloquial shortening of brigantine (q.v.). The meaning "a ship's jail" is by 1841, American English, perhaps from the use of such vessels as prison ships upon retirement from active duty.
updated on October 24, 2022
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Dictionary entries near brig
briefcase
briefing
briefly
briefs
brier
brig
brigade
brigadier
brigand
brigandage
brigantine