Part 1343

<hw>Brais"er</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>A kettle or pan for braising.</def>

<h1>Brait</h1> <Xpage=174>

<hw>Brait</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[Cf.W. <ets>braith</ets> variegated, Ir. <ets>breath</ets>, <ets>breagh</ets>, fine, comely.]</ety> <def>A rough diamond.</def>

<h1>Braize</h1> <Xpage=174>

<hw>Braize</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>See <er>Braise</er>.</def>

<h1>Brake</h1> <Xpage=174>

<hw>Brake</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>imp.</tt> <def>of <er>Break</er>.</def> <mark>[Arhaic]</mark>

<i>Tennyson.</i>

<h1>Brake</h1> <Xpage=174>

<hw>Brake</hw>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[OE. <ets>brake</ets> fern; cf. AS. <ets>bracce</ets> fern, LG. <ets>brake</ets> willow bush, Da. <ets>bregne</ets> fern, G. <ets>brach</ets> fallow; prob. orig. the growth on rough, broken ground, fr. the root of E. <ets>break</ets>. See <er>Break</er>, <tt>v. t.</tt>, cf. <er>Bracken</er>, and <er>2d Brake</er>, <tt>n.</tt>]</ety>

<p><b>1.</b> <fld>(Bot.)</fld> <def>A fern of the genus <i>Pteris</i>, esp. the <i>P</i>. <i>aquilina</i>, common in almost all countries. It has solitary stems dividing into three principal branches. Less properly: Any fern.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>A thicket; a place overgrown with shrubs and brambles, with undergrowth and ferns, or with canes.</def>

<blockquote>Rounds rising hillocks, <b>brakes</b> obscure and rough, To shelter thee from tempest and from rain. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>He stayed not for <b>brake</b>, <b>and he stopped not for stone</b>. <i>Sir W. Scott.</i></blockquote>

<cs><col>Cane brake</col>, <cd>a thicket of canes. See <er>Canebrake</er>.</cd></cs>

<hr> <page="175"> Page 175<p>

<h1>Brake</h1> <Xpage=175>

<hw>Brake</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[OE. <ets>brake</ets>; cf. LG. <ets>brake</ets> an instrument for breaking flax, G. <ets>breche</ets>, fr. the root of E. <ets>break</ets>. See <ets>Break</ets>, <tt>v. t.</tt>, and cf. <er>Breach</er>.]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>An instrument or machine to break or bruise the woody part of flax or hemp so that it may be separated from the fiber.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>An extended handle by means of which a number of men can unite in working a pump, as in a fire engine.</def>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>A baker's kneading though.</def>

<i>Johnson.</i>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>A sharp bit or snaffle.</def>

<blockquote>Pampered jades . . . which need nor <b>break</b> nor bit. <i>Gascoigne.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>5.</b> <def>A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing him; also, an inclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc.</def>

<blockquote>A horse . . . which Philip had bought . . . and because of his fierceness kept him within a <b>brake</b> of iron bars. <i>J. Brende.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>6.</b> <def>That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or engine, which enables it to turn.</def>

<p><b>7.</b> <fld>(Mil.)</fld> <def>An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.</def>

<p><b>8.</b> <fld>(Agric.)</fld> <def>A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after plowing; a drag.</def>