brunir

Brunir is a French verb meaning to turn brown or to darken, typically through heat, light exposure, or a chemical process. It is commonly used in culinary contexts to describe browning the surface of food, such as when meat is browned to develop flavor, or when sauces and sauces reduce and color deepens. The term also appears in leatherworking, wood finishing, and other crafts to indicate a change toward a brown shade.

Etymology and scope: Brunir derives from the adjective brun, meaning brown, which in turn comes from Latin brunus. In French, brunir is a regular -ir verb of the second conjugation and shares its basic sense with cognate forms in related Romance languages, though usage can be more specialized in each language.

Conjugation and forms: Brunir is a regular -ir verb. Present tense forms include je brunis, tu brunis, il brunît, nous brunissons, vous brunissez, ils brunissent. The imperfect is brunissais, brunissais, brunissait, brunissions, brunissiez, brunissaient. The passé composé uses the auxiliary être or avoir with the past participle bruni, and the present participle is brunissant. The passé simple is rarely used in everyday speech but appears as brunis, brunît, brunîmes, brunîtes, brunirent in literary contexts.

Usage notes: Beyond cooking and leather, brunir can describe any process that yields a brown color, such as browning wood, paper, or pigments. In many modern contexts, more specific verbs like dorer (to glaze or bronze) or colorer (to color) may be preferred for subtle distinctions.

See also: brunissement, brunissant, brun.