Obs. Forms: 2 brenie, 3 brunie, 3–4 brinie, bruny, 4 brunye, brini, brynye, breny. [ME. brunie (ü), brynie, brinie, brenie, a. ON. brynja (Da. brynie, Sw. brynja), corresp. to OE. byrne from *brynne, OHG. brunja, brunna (MHG. brunje, brünje, brünne, also mod.G.) corslet, Goth. brunjô breast-plate:—OTeut. *brunjôn-. Whether the latter was adopted from OSlav. bronja ‘coat of mail,’ or the OSlav. from Teut., or both from a common source (cf. OIr. bruinne ‘breast’) is uncertain; the word is not connected with BURN v. The Teut. word was adopted in late L. or Romanic: cf. med.L. brunia, -ea, bronia, OFr. brunie, bronie, bruigne, brugne, brogne, bruine, broine, broune, Pr. bronha, broingna. The ME. brunie corresponds exactly to the Norman-French form, but the phonology of the parallel brinie, brenie, points to the Scandinavian as the original source. The regular ME. form from the OE. word would have been byrn (see BURNE), and from Scand. brynie: through contact of these and metathesis of r, there are also found the forms BRYN, and BYRNIE.]
Armor for the body; a coat of mail, cuirass, breastplate. Hence Brynied, brenyed ppl. a. Mailed.
c. 1175. Cott. Hom., 243. Sceold, helm, and brenie.
c. 1205. Lay., 1553. Þah he hefden brunie on. Ibid., 6718. And burne [1275 brunie] he wurp on rigge.
c. 1300. K. Horn, 591. Þe fole schok þe brunie Þat al þe curt gan denie [to din].
c. 1300. Havelok, 1775. Bernard … caste a brinie up on his rig.
c. 1320. Sir Tristr., 191. Þurch brinies brast þe blod.
c. 1330. King of Tars, 949. With helm on hed and brunye briht.
c. 1380. Sir Ferumb., 3024. Many was þe helm & brynye briȝt; þat þar was cloue.
a. 1400[?]. Morte Arth., 316. Brenyede knyghtes.
c. 1440. Syr Gowghter, 415, in Utterson’s E. P., I. 179. Blode thorow brenyys brast.
