Plural of bruin, meaning bears; commonly used as team names, most notably for the Boston Bruins NHL hockey team and UCLA Bruins athletic teams.
From Dutch 'bruin' meaning 'brown', used as a name for bears in medieval literature, particularly in the epic 'Reynard the Fox'. The term became a poetic or literary synonym for bear in English.
The Boston Bruins were named after the brown and gold colors of their original owner's grocery store chain, making them one of the few sports teams named after a business color scheme. UCLA adopted 'Bruins' as a unique alternative to the common 'Bears' mascot used by many universities.
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