brace

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English brace, from Old French brace (“arm”), from Latin bracchia, the nominative and accusative plural of bracchium (“arm”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /bɹeɪs/ Rhymes: -eɪs === Noun === brace (plural braces) (obsolete) Armor for the arm; vambrace. (obsolete) A measurement of length, originally representing a person's outstretched arms. A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension. A thong used to regulate the tension of a drum. The state of being braced or tight; tension. Harness; warlike preparation. (typography) A curved, pointed line, also known as "curly bracket": { or } connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be considered together, such as in {role, roll}; in music, used to connect staves. (plural brace) A pair, a couple; originally used of dogs, and later of animals generally (e.g., a brace of conies) and then other things, but rarely human persons. (In British use (as plural), this is a particularly common reference to game birds.) A piece of material used to transmit, or change the direction of, weight or pressure; any one of the pieces, in a frame or truss, which divide the structure into triangular parts. It may act as a tie, or as a strut, and serves to prevent distortion of the structure, and transverse strains in its members. A boiler brace is a diagonal stay, connecting the head with the shell. (nautical) A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon. (British, Cornwall, mining) The mouth of a shaft. (British, chiefly in the plural) Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders. (plural in North America, singular or plural in the UK) A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth or to reduce overbite. (soccer) Two goals scored by one player in a game. Coordinate term: hat trick (cricket) Two wickets taken with two consecutive deliveries. ==== Synonyms ==== (measure of length representing a person's outstretched arms): fathom (pair, couple): dyad, twosome; see also Thesaurus:duo ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === brace (third-person singular simple present braces, present participle bracing, simple past and past participle braced) (transitive, intransitive) To prepare for something bad, such as an impact or blow. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly. (nautical) To swing round the yards of a square rigged ship, using braces, to present a more efficient sail surface to the direction of the wind. To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police. To confront with questions, demands or requests. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly. ==== Synonyms ==== (strengthen): See also Thesaurus:strengthen ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Related terms === === Anagrams === acerb, caber, cabre, cabré == Italian == === Alternative forms === brage, bragia, bracia, brada, brasa (archaic or regional) === Etymology === Perhaps from Gothic *𐌱𐍂𐌰𐍃𐌰 (*brasa, “glowing coal”), from Proto-Germanic *brasō (“gleed, crackling coal”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰres- (“to crack, break, burst”). Cognate with French braise (“embers”), Swedish brasa (“to roast”), Icelandic brasa (“to harden by fire”). Most probably cognate to Sanskrit भ्रज (bhrája, “fire”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbra.t͡ʃe/ Rhymes: -atʃe Hyphenation: brà‧ce === Noun === brace f (plural braci) (usually in the plural) ember(s) Carne alla brace ― grilled meat (literally, “meat [cooked] to the ember”) ==== Derived terms ==== braciaio braciaiola braciere bracino braciola brasare == Middle English == === Etymology 1 === From Old French brace, from Latin bracchia, plural of bracchium. ==== Alternative forms ==== brase, braas, bras ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /ˈbraːs(ə)/ ==== Noun ==== brace (uncountable) Vambrace; armour which protects the arm. A cord or brace for fastening or attaching things to something. A group or set of two dogs or canines. Wood used as a buttress or support for building. (rare) A support or buttress used in other applications. (rare) A kind of riding equipment or horse tack. (rare) A peninsula; a cape or slice of land jutting into the sea. (rare) A perch (unit of measure) (rare) A point of a cross or rood. ===== Derived terms ===== bracen bracer brasyng rerebrace vambrace ===== Descendants ===== English: brace Scots: brace ===== References ===== “brāce, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 11 August 2018. === Etymology 2 === ==== Verb ==== brace alternative form of bracen === Etymology 3 === ==== Noun ==== brace alternative form of bras == Old French == === Etymology === From Latin brachia, bracchia, originally the plural of bracchium. === Noun === brace oblique singular, f (oblique plural braces, nominative singular brace, nominative plural braces) arm (limb) ==== Related terms ==== bras ==== Descendants ==== → Middle English: brace, brase, braas, brasEnglish: braceScots: brace === References === Godefroy, Frédéric, Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle (1881) (brace) == Romanian == === Alternative forms === braci === Etymology === Inherited from Latin brācae, plural of brāca. === Noun === brace f pl (plural only) (rare, Bukovina) underwear, undergarments, drawers, unmentionables Synonyms: indispensabili, chiloți, izmene ==== Declension ==== ==== Related terms ==== îmbrăca