Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BRAB'BLE, n. [D. brabbelen, to stammer.]

A broil; a clamorous contest; a wrangle. [Obs.] Shak.

BRAB'BLE, v.i.

To clamor; to contest noisily. [Obs.] – Beaumont and Fletcher.

BRAB'BLER, n.

A clamorous, quarrelsome, noisy fellow; a wrangler. [Obs.] – Shak. BRAB'BLING ppr. Clamoring; wrangling. [Obs.]

BRAC'CATE, a. [L. bracca, breeches.]

Furnished with feathers which conceal the feet.

BRACE, n. [Fr. bras; Sp. brazo; Port. braço; Arm. breach, or breh; Ir. brac, and raigh; W. braic; Corn. breck, or breh; L. brachium; Gr. βραχιων, the arm. This word furnishes a clear and decisive evidence of the change of a palatal letter into a sibilant. The change comes through the Spanish or other Celtic dialect, brach, brazo, the Sp. z being originally a palatal or guttural; thence to the Fr. bras, and Eng. brace. In like manner, Durazzo is formed from Dyrrachium. The Greek verbs furnish a multitude of similar changes. This word furnishes also a proof that b is a prefix, for in Irish, brac is written also raigh. The sense of arm is, that which breaks forth, a shoot. From bras, the French have embrasser, to embrace, and in Sp. brazas is braces, and bracear, is to brace, and to swing the arms. Brace, in naval affairs, is in D. bras; Dan. bras, and braser, to brace. Qu. is this the same word as the Fr. bras, an arm?]

1. In architecture, a piece of timber framed in with bevel-joints, to keep the building from swerving either way. It extends like an arm from the post or main timber.
2. That which holds any thing tight; a cincture or bandage. The braces of a drum are not bands.
3. A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks. It is used of persons, only in contempt, or in a style of drollery.
4. In music, a double curve at the beginning of a stave.
5. A thick strap, which supports a carriage on wheels.
6. A crooked line in printing, connecting two or more words or lines; thus, boll, or bowl. It is used to connect triplets in poetry.
7. In marine language, a rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, to square or traverse the yard. The name is given also to pieces of iron which are used as supports; such as the poop lanterns, &c. – Mar. Dict.
8. Brace, or brasse, is a foreign measure answering to our fathom.
9. Harness; warlike preparation; as, we say, girded for battle. – Shak.
10. Tension; tightness. – Holder.
11. Braces, [plur.,] suspenders, the straps that sustain pantaloons, &c.
12. The braces of a drum, are the cords on the sides of it, for tightening the heads and snares.

BRACE, v.t.

1. To draw tight; to tighten; to bind or tie close; to make tight and firm.
2. To make tense; to strain up; as, to brace a drum.
3. To furnish with braces; as, to brace a building.
4. To strengthen; to increase tension; as, to brace the nerves.
5. In marine language, to bring the yards to either side. To brace about, is to turn the yards round for the contrary tack. To brace sharp, is to cause the yards to have the smallest possible angle with the keel. To brace to, is to check or ease off the lee braces, and round-in the weather ones, to assist in tacking. – Mar. Dict.

BRAC'ED, pp.

Furnished with braces; drawn close and tight; made tense.

BRACE'LET, n. [Fr. brasselet, and bracelet; It. bracciale, braccialetto; Sp. brazalete. See Brace.]

1. An ornament for the wrist, worn by ladies. This ornament seems anciently to have been worn by men as well as women.
2. A piece of defensive armor for the arm. – Johnson.

BRA'CER, n.

1. That which braces, binds or makes firm; a band or bandage; also, armor for the arm. – Chaucer.
2. An astringent medicine, which gives tension or tone to any part of the body.

BRACH, n. [Fr. braque; D. brak; It. bracco, a setting dog; Sp. braco, pointing or setting as a pointer.]

A bitch of the hound kind. – Shak.

BRACH'I-AL, a. [L. brachium, from the Celtic braic, brac, the arm.]

Belonging to the arm; as, the brachial artery. – Hooper.

BRACH'I-ATE, a. [See Brachial.]

in Botany, having branches in pairs, decussated, all nearly horizontal, and each pair at right angles with the next. – Martyn.

BRACH'I-O-PODE, n. [Gr. βραχιον, the arm, and ποδα, feet.]

An animal which moves by means of processes like arms, as the lingula and terebratula. – Mantell.

BRACH'MAN, or BRAM'IN, n.

An ancient philosopher of India. The brachmans are a branch of the ancient gymnosophists, and remarkable for the severity of their lives and manners. – Encyc.

BRA-CHYG'RA-PHER, n. [See the next word.]

A writer in short hand. – Gayton.

BRA-CHYG'RA-PHY, n. [Gr. βραχυς, short, and γραφη, a writing.]

The art or practice of writing in short hand; stenography. – B. Jonson.

BRA-CHYL'O-GY, n. [Gr. βραχυς, short, and λογος, expression.]

In rhetoric, the expressing of any thing in the most concise manner.

BRACH'Y-TYP-OUS, a. [Gr. βραχυς, short, and τυπος, form.]

In mineralogy, of a short form. – Mohs.

BRA'CING, a.

Having the quality of giving strength or tone.

BRA'CING, n.

Act of bracing, or state of being braced.

BRA'CING, ppr.

Furnishing with braces; making tight or firm.

BRACK, n. [Ger. bruch; Dan. bræk; Norm. brek; from break, which see.]

An opening caused by the parting of any solid body; a breach; a broken part.

BRACK'EN, n.

Fern. [See Brake.]

BRACK'ET, n. [Fr. braquer, to bend. Qu. Oriental ברך, Ar. Ch. Heb. Syr. Sam. and Eth., to bend the knee; hence it signifies the knee.]

1. Among workers in timber, an angular wooden stay, in form of the knee bent, to support shelves, scaffolds and the like.
2. The cheek of a mortar carriage, made of strong plank. – Encyc.
3. In printing, hooks; thus, [ ].

BRACK'ISH, a. [D. brak, overflowed; qu. from break, or Gr. βρεχω, to water. Perhaps applied to land on which salt water has flowed.]

Salt, or salt in a moderate degree; it is applied to any water partially saturated with salt. – Bacon.