Dictionary

brismak en · NOUN

Etymology

Ultimately from Old Norse brosma, compare dialectal Norwegian bresma; ultimately related to English bream, which see for more.

Meanings

1. (Orkney, Shetland) Synonym of cusk (“type of fish”).
   • Twa brismaks, a stäblin', an' four krooners [grey gurnards]! 1898 April 2, Shetland News:
   • itt I wiz kummin hemm frae Ska, / whaar I wiz rowin dat simmer, / ee setterdey nycht wi a biudie o' / ling hedds an peerie brismaks, an / bruk o' dat kynd apo ma bak, that I was coming home from / Ska, wheere I was fishing that / summer, one Saturday night with a creil [or basket] ling heads / and small tusk-fish, and scaps / of that kind upon my back, 1886, "A---d B---y", "Letter in the Dialct of the Shetland Isles", in George Laurence Gomme, Dialect, Proverbs and Word-lore: A Classified Collection of the Chief Contents of The Gentleman's Magazine from 1731-1868, page 31
   • The Torsk it seems, from his account, or as it is called in the Shetlands, Tusk and Brismak, is a northern fish, which as yet has not been discovered lower to the southward than the Orknies, and is even rather scarce there. 1804, Edward Donovan, The Natural History of British Fishes: Including Scientific and General Descriptions of the Most Interesting Species and an Extensive Selection of Accurately Finished Coloured Plates, Taken Entirely from Original Drawings:

Forms

Synonyms

cusk

wikidata: Q850056