n. [ L. Of unknown origin. ] A mystical word or collocation of letters written as in the figure. Worn on an amulet it was supposed to ward off fever. At present the word is used chiefly in jest to denote something without meaning; jargon. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. 1 broad in scope or content.
Syn. -- all-inclusive, across-the-board, blanket(prenominal), broad, complete, global, panoptic, wide [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ L. &unr_;, Gr. &unr_; short at both ends; 'amfi` + brachy`s short. ] (Anc. Pros.) A foot of three syllables, the middle one long, the first and last short (˘ -- ˘); as, hăbēr&ebreve_;. In modern prosody the accented syllable takes the place of the long and the unaccented of the short; as, pro-phet&bprime_;ic. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the antibrachium, or forearm. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL. ] (Anat.) That part of the fore limb between the brachium and the carpus; the forearm. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. bi- + bracteate. ] (Bot.) Furnished with, or having, two bracts. [ 1913 Webster ]

a.[ L. bracatus wearing breeches, fr. bracae breeches. ] (Zool.) Furnished with feathers which conceal the feet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. brace, brasse, the two arms, embrace, fathom, F. brasse fathom, fr. L. bracchia the arms (stretched out), pl. of bracchium arm; cf. Gr. &unr_;. ] 1. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum. [ 1913 Webster ]

The little bones of the ear drum do in straining and relaxing it as the braces of the war drum do in that. Derham. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The state of being braced or tight; tension. [ 1913 Webster ]

The laxness of the tympanum, when it has lost its brace or tension. Holder. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Arch. & Engin.) 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Print.) A vertical curved line connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be taken together; thus, boll, bowl; or, in music, used to connect staves. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Naut.) A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Mech.) A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt. “A brace of greyhounds.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

He is said to have shot . . . fifty brace of pheasants. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

A brace of brethren, both bishops, both eminent for learning and religion, now appeared in the church. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

But you, my brace of lords. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. pl. Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders. [ 1913 Webster ]

I embroidered for you a beautiful pair of braces. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. Harness; warlike preparation. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

For that it stands not in such warlike brace. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. Armor for the arm; vantbrace. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. (Mining) The mouth of a shaft. [ Cornwall ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Angle brace. See under Angle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Braced p. pr. & vb. n. Bracing. ] 1. To furnish with braces; to support; to prop; as, to brace a beam in a building. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To draw tight; to tighten; to put in a state of tension; to strain; to strengthen; as, to brace the nerves. [ 1913 Webster ]

And welcome war to brace her drums. Campbell. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To bind or tie closely; to fasten tightly. [ 1913 Webster ]

The women of China, by bracing and binding them from their infancy, have very little feet. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some who spurs had first braced on. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To place in a position for resisting pressure; to hold firmly; as, he braced himself against the crowd. [ 1913 Webster ]

A sturdy lance in his right hand he braced. Fairfax. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Naut.) To move around by means of braces; as, to brace the yards. [ 1913 Webster ]

To brace about (Naut.), to turn (a yard) round for the contrary tack. --
To brace a yard (Naut.), to move it horizontally by means of a brace. --
To brace in (Naut.), to turn (a yard) by hauling in the weather brace. --
To brace one's self, to call up one's energies. “He braced himself for an effort which he was little able to make.” J. D. Forbes. --
To brace to (Naut.), to turn (a yard) by checking or easing off the lee brace, and hauling in the weather one, to assist in tacking. --
To brace up (Naut.), to bring (a yard) nearer the direction of the keel by hauling in the lee brace. --
To brace up sharp (Naut.), to turn (a yard) as far forward as the rigging will permit. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To get tone or vigor; to rouse one's energies; -- with up. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. held up by braces or buttresses.
Syn. -- buttressed. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. bracelet, dim. of OF. bracel armlet, prop. little arm, dim. of bras arm, fr. L. bracchium. See Brace, n. ] 1. An ornamental band or ring, for the wrist or the arm; in modern times, an ornament encircling the wrist, worn by women or girls. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A piece of defensive armor for the arm. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. That which braces, binds, or makes firm; a band or bandage. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A covering to protect the arm of the bowman from the vibration of the string; also, a brassart. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A medicine, as an astringent or a tonic, which gives tension or tone to any part of the body. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. brache a kind of scenting hound or setting dog, OF. brache, F. braque, fr. OHG. braccho, G. bracke; possibly akin to E. fragrant, fr. L. fragrare to smell. ] A bitch of the hound kind. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. brache a kind of scenting hound or setting dog, OF. brache, F. braque, fr. OHG. braccho, G. bracke; related to Sw. brack a dog that hunts by scent; possibly akin to E. fragrant, fr. L. fragrare to smell. ] A bitch of the hound kind. See also bratchet. Shak. [ Also spelled bratch when pronounced ] [ 1913 Webster + Century Dict. 1906 ]

A sow pig by chance sucked a brach, and when she was grown would miraculously hunt all manner of deer. Burton (Anatomy of Melancholy). [ Century Dict. 1906 ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. (&unr_;) short + &unr_; a covering. ] (Zool.) A group of beetles having short elytra, as the rove beetles. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. same as bratchet. [ Century Dict. 1906 ]

‖n. pl. See Brachium. [ 1913 Webster ]

r a. [ L. brachialis (bracch-), from bracchium (bracch-) arm: cf. F. brachial. ] 1. (Anat.) Pertaining or belonging to the arm; as, the brachial artery; the brachial nerve. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of the nature of an arm; resembling an arm. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ See Brachiate. ] (Zool.) A division of the Crinoidea, including those furnished with long jointed arms. See Crinoidea. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. brachiatus (bracch-) with boughs or branches like arms, from brackium (bracch-) arm. ] (Bot.) Having branches in pairs, decussated, all nearly horizontal, and each pair at right angles with the next, as in the maple and lilac. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One of the Brachioganoidei. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl.[ NL., from L. brachium (bracch-) arm + NL. ganoidei. ] (Zool.) An order of ganoid fishes of which the bichir of Africa is a living example. See Crossopterygii. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. L. brachiolum (bracch-), dim. of brachium (bracch-) arm. ] (Zool.) A peculiar early larval stage of certain starfishes, having a bilateral structure, and swimming by means of bands of vibrating cilia. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf.F. brachiopode. ] (Zool.) One of the Brachiopoda, or its shell. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., from Gr. &unr_; arm + -poda. ] (Zool.) A class of Molluscoidea having a symmetrical bivalve shell, often attached by a fleshy peduncle. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Within the shell is a pair of “arms, ” often long and spirally coiled, bearing rows of ciliated tentacles by which a current of water is made to flow into the mantle cavity, bringing the microscopic food to the mouth between the bases of the arms. The shell is both opened and closed by special muscles. They form two orders; Lyopoma, in which the shell is thin, and without a distinct hinge, as in Lingula; and Arthropoma, in which the firm calcareous shell has a regular hinge, as in Rhynchonella. See Arthropomata. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n.; pl. Bracchia [ L. brachium or bracchium, arm. ] (Anat.) The upper arm; the segment of the fore limb between the shoulder and the elbow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. Brachmanae, pl., Gr. &unr_;. ] See Brahman. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_;; brachy`s short + &unr_; to leave off; cf. &unr_; incomplete. ] (Gr. & Last. Pros.) A verse wanting two syllables at its termination. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. [ Cf. F. Brachycéphalie ] . (Anat.) The state or condition of being brachycephalic; shortness of head. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , a. [ Gr. brachy`s short + &unr_; head. ] (Anat.) Having the skull short in proportion to its breadth; shortheaded; -- in distinction from dolichocephalic. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. brachy`s short + ke`ras horn. ] (Zool.) Having short antennæ, as certain insects. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. brachy`s short + E. diagonal. ] Pertaining to the shorter diagonal, as of a rhombic prism. [ 1913 Webster ]

Brachydiagonal axis, the shorter lateral axis of an orthorhombic crystal. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The shorter of the diagonals in a rhombic prism. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. brachy`s short + E. dome. ] (Crystallog.) A dome parallel to the shorter lateral axis. See Dome. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A writer in short hand; a stenographer. [ 1913 Webster ]

He asked the brachygrapher whether he wrote the notes of the sermon. Gayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. brachy`s short + -graphy: cf. F. brachygraphie. ] Stenography. B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. &unr_; : brachy`s short + &unr_; discourse: cf. F. brachylogie. ] (Rhet.) Conciseness of expression; brevity. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gr. brachy`s short + E. pinacoid. ] (Crytallog.) A plane of an orthorhombic crystal which is parallel both to the vertical axis and to the shorter lateral (brachydiagonal) axis. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. &unr_; short-winged; brachy`s short + &unr_; feather, wing. ] (Zool.) A group of Coleoptera having short wings; the rove beetles. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL. See Brachyptera. ] (Zool.) A group of birds, including auks, divers, and penguins. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Gr. &unr_; : cf. F. brachyptère. ] (Zool.) Having short wings. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Incorrect for brachistochrone, fr. Gr. bra`chistos shortest (superl. of brachy`s short) + &unr_; time : cf. F. brachistochrone. ] (Math.) A curve, in which a body, starting from a given point, and descending solely by the force of gravity, will reach another given point in a shorter time than it could by any other path. This curve of quickest descent, as it is sometimes called, is, in a vacuum, the same as the cycloid. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. abnormal shortness of fingers and toes.
Syn. -- brachydactylia. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. [ Gr. brachy`s short + &unr_; stamp, form. ] (Min.) Of a short form. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. Gr. brachy`s short + o'yra` tail. ] (Zool.) A group of decapod Crustacea, including the common crabs, characterized by a small and short abdomen, which is bent up beneath the large cephalo-thorax. [ Also spelt Brachyoura. ] See Crab, and Illustration in Appendix. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One of the Brachyura. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , a. [ Cf. F. brachyure. ] (Zool.) Of, pertaining to, or belonging to the Brachyura. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Imparting strength or tone; strengthening; invigorating; as, a bracing north wind. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of strengthening, supporting, or propping, with a brace or braces; the state of being braced. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Engin.) Any system of braces; braces, collectively; as, the bracing of a truss. [ 1913 Webster ]