eyebrow

noun, verb — 5 senses

eyebrow

noun

/ˈaɪˌbɹaʊ/

Etymology From Middle English eȝebreu, alteration of Old English ēaganbrū (“eyebrow”), equivalent to eye + brow. The corresponding Old English ēagbrǣw meant "eyelid". Compare Dutch oogbrauw (“eyelid; eyelash; eyebrow”), German Augenbraue (“eyebrow”).

1

The hair that grows over the bone ridge above the eye socket.

2

Business, Construction, Manufacturing A dormer, usually of small size, whose roof line over the upright face is typically an arched curve, turning into a reverse curve to meet the horizontal line at either end.

3

A clump of waste fibres that builds up in a roller machine.

Synonyms
brow, supercilium, vallum
Derived terms
eyebrowed, eyebrowed thrush, eyebrow flash, eyebrowing, eyebrowless, eyebrowlessness, eyebrowlike, eyebrow pencil, eyebrow-raiser, eyebrow-raising, flea's eyebrows, guybrows, knit one's eyebrows, old man's eyebrow, raise an eyebrow, raise eyebrows, Weatherby eyebrow
Hyponyms
monobrow, unibrow

eyebrow

verb

Etymology From Middle English eȝebreu, alteration of Old English ēaganbrū (“eyebrow”), equivalent to eye + brow. The corresponding Old English ēagbrǣw meant "eyelid". Compare Dutch oogbrauw (“eyelid; eyelash; eyebrow”), German Augenbraue (“eyebrow”).

1

To build up waste fibres in a roller machine.

2

To signal with one's eyebrows.

  • Rodas watched Tinker disappear through the door before eyebrowing a question at Barrow. Barrow gestured at him to stay put. Rodas settled back.2015, Kathy Reichs, Bones Never Lie, page 23:
Related terms
eyelash, eyelid

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.