[Middle English, name of the bear in History of Reynard the Fox, translated by William Caxton, from Middle Dutch bruun, bruin, brown, name of the bear in the Middle Dutch version of the fable.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.