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brig

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brig

[brig]
–noun
1. Nautical.
a. a two-masted vessel square-rigged on both masts.
b. (formerly, in the U.S. Navy) an armed brig-rigged or brigantine-rigged vessel.
c. the compartment of a ship where prisoners are confined.
2. a place of confinement or detention, esp. in the U.S. Navy or Marines; guardhouse.

Origin:
1705–15; short for brigantine

Brig.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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brig   (brĭg)   
n.  
  1. A two-masted sailing ship, square-rigged on both masts.

  2. A jail or prison on board a U.S. Navy or Coast Guard vessel.

  3. A jail or guardhouse, especially on the premises of a U.S. military installation.


[Short for brigantine. Senses 2 and 3, from the use of ships as prisons.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
brig [brɪg]

  1. n.
    jail. (From the term for a naval prison or a shipboard jail.) : Throw this jerk in the brig.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

brig 
1720, colloquial shortening of brigantine (q.v.). Apparently such vessels being used for prison ships led to extended meaning "a jail," first recorded 1852.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
brig
brigade
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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