# brine

> English word · Noun · IPA /bɹaɪn/ · frequency rank #26,352

## Definitions
1. Salt water; water saturated or strongly impregnated with salt; a salt-and-water solution for pickling.
2. The sea or ocean; the water of the sea.

## Etymology
From Middle English brine, bryne, from Old English brīne, from Proto-West Germanic *brīnā, from Proto-Germanic *brīnǭ (“salt water, brine”) (compare Scots brime, West Frisian brein, Dutch brijn (“brine”), West Flemish brijne), of unknown ultimate origin, but probably from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreyH- (“to cut, maim”).
Cognates include Old Irish ro·bria (“may hurt, damage”), Latin friāre (“to rub, crumble”), Slovene bríti (“to shave, shear”), Albanian brej (“to gnaw”), Sanskrit बृणाति (bṛṇā́ti, “they injure, hurt”).
Alternatively, from Proto-Indo-European *mriHnós, from *móri (compare Latin marīnus).

## Easily confused with
- **Brit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-brit)
- **Bryn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-bryn)
- **bring** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-bring)
- **broke** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-broke)
- **Bruce** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-bruce)
- **Bruno** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-bruno)
- **Bronx** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-bronx)
- **Brits** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-brits)
- **brink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-brink)
- **Byrne** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-byrne)
- **brute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-brute)
- **brisk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-brisk)
- **Britt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-britt)
- **brunt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-brunt)
- **Bruni** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-bruni)
- **brings** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-brings)
- **bronze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-bronze)
- **Brunei** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-brunei)
- **bruise** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-bruise)
- **byline** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/brine-vs-byline)

## Common misspellings (7)
`bbrine`, `birne`, `brien`, `brinne`, `brnie`, `brrine`, `rbine`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/brine