Brazier

Definition: a container for burning material

The etymology traces back through the word “braze” in Old French, meaning “to boil or burn.”

The definition is very wide. It could refer to anything from a fire pit to a grill.

Why I Looked It Up

From Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal:

I sat and watch him make a charcoal fire in a small stone brazier…

Also, some Dairy Queens used to have “Brazier” on the sign. I’ve since learned that this meant they also served food items, like hamburgers. Lack of this word meant that they only served ice cream.

I always pronounced it (in the DQ context) as “BRA-zhure,”, with a soft “z”. But I checked some online pronunciations, and they all seem to pronounce it with a harder “z”, like “BRA-zee-ur.”