brown study
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Sense 1
a state of deep thought or daydreaming
Examples
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Sense 2
Said of one absent, in a reverie, or thoughtful.
Era: ca. 1811 (Georgian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811 edition, public domain; Project Gutenberg #5402, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Sense 3
a reverie. Very common even in educated society, but hardly admissible in writing, and therefore considered a vulgarism. It is derived, by a writer in Notes and Queries, from BROW STUDY, and he cites the old German BRAUN, or AUG-BRAUN, an eye-brow.—Ben Jonson.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “brown study” mean?
a state of deep thought or daydreaming Literally: a brown study room
Is “brown study” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.