brake
English meaning: Brake
Definition
A fern; bracken.
Example
“The hillside was thick with brake and gorse by late summer.”
Another example: “A rabbit darted into the brake at the edge of the meadow.”
Usage — When, Where & How
In this sense a dated or literary/regional noun meaning bracken or fern, mostly found in older or poetic writing and place names. Far more common today is the unrelated everyday sense of 'brake' as a device for slowing a vehicle.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Middle English 'brake' (bracken, thicket), of obscure Germanic origin, distinct from the mechanical 'brake'; attested from the 15th century.
Synonyms
- bracken
- fern
- thicket
- brushwood
Related Words
- callipers
- calipers
- caliper
- cogs
- brakes
- levers
- pedal
- pads
- servo
- lever
Common Collocations
- dense brake
- brake and bramble
- fern brake
- through the brake
Word Forms
brake (n); brakes (pl)
Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B