Brim First Meant the Edge of the Sea
A brim is the top edge of a container or the rim of a hat. The oldest sense was a shoreline.
A brim is the top edge of a cup or bowl, or the projecting rim of a hat. Its earliest recorded sense in English was the edge of the sea, the shoreline; from there it moved to the edge of any vessel and then to hats in the 1500s. The route runs water's edge to cup's edge to hat's edge. To *brim with* something, as in brimming with confidence, is a figurative use of a cup filled right to the top.
- A container's top edge. *Full to the brim.*
- A hat's rim. *A wide-brimmed hat.*
- To be full. *Brimming with pride.*
- Brimful — completely full. *Brimful.*
- Middle English — *brimme*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | brim | A brim. |
| Plural | brims | Brims. |
| Verb | brim | Brimming. |
| Adjective | brimful | Brimful. |
| Adjective | brimmed | Wide-brimmed. |
- Fill the glass to the brim.Container.
- The hat had a wide brim.Clothing.
- Her eyes brimmed with tears.Figurative.
Words for an edge
- Brim — the top edge of a vessel or hat
- Rim — a circular edge, often of a wheel
- Verge — the edge of a road or the brink of an event
- Brink — the edge of a steep drop
- Margin — the border of a page or region
Middle English *brimme*, probably of Germanic origin, originally the edge of the sea.
Did brim always mean the top of a cup?
No. Its earliest English sense was the edge of the sea. It moved to vessels and then to hats.
What is the difference between brim and rim?
A brim is the top edge, particularly one you fill up to, or a hat's projection. A rim is any circular border.