Naut. [app. a. Da. or Sw. bru, ON. brú bridge.] (See quot.)
1867. Smyth, Sailors Word-bk., Brow, an inclined plane of planks, on one or both sides of a ship, to communicate internally; a stage-gangway for the accommodation of the shipwrights, in conveying plank, timber, and weighty articles on board . An old term for a gang-board.
1875. Bedford, Sailors Pocket-bk., vii. (ed. 2), 272. Plank to form a brow to the shore.
1882. Standard, 20 Oct., 6/1. The horses were walked from deck to deck by brows and from the deck to the wharf down a third brow.