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I run across a phrase of "You are brand new to GitHub" on the web.

What makes me confused is the word "brand"; is it a noun, an adjective or an adverb?

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brand is a degree word. Degree words modify adjectives to describe the degree to which a property is had. The adjective new is special in that one usually says brand new instead of very new.

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    What other words (besides new) does brand work with?
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jan 7, 2013 at 5:29
  • @PeterShor Spanking.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Commented Jan 7, 2013 at 5:46
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    @Peter Shor: I've read dialogues in which speakers have said "That's brand clean!"
    – user21497
    Commented Jan 7, 2013 at 5:52
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    @StoneyB Can you really say that something is brand spanking, not just that it is brand spanking new? It looks like all the OED’s citations of this kind of spanking meaning very occur in phrases like spanking new or brand spanking new, but that there are none for just brand spanking alone without the new. What does that say or suggest then?
    – tchrist ♦
    Commented Jan 7, 2013 at 6:10
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    @tchrist: I wonder if StoneyB meant to answer the question, "What other words (besides brand) works with new that way?"
    – J.R.
    Commented Jan 7, 2013 at 8:56

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