Brace

Brace (pronounced breys)

(1) Something that holds parts together or in place, as a clasp or clamp.

(2) Anything that imparts rigidity or steadiness (sometimes called a bitbrace or bitstock).

(3) In drilling, a hand tool for drilling holes, with a socket to hold the drill at one end and a cranked handle by which the tool can be turned in full (also called a bitstock).

(4) In building trades, a piece of timber, metal, etc., for supporting or positioning another piece or portion of a framework.

(5) In Admiralty use, on a square-rigged ship, A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally (also as the rudder gudgeon).

(6) In nautical use, 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.

(7) In music, the leather loops sliding upon the tightening cords of a drum to change their tension and the drum's pitch.

(8) In dentistry, a system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked or irregularly arranged teeth or to reduce overbite, placed directly against the surfaces of the teeth.

(9) In orthopaedic surgery, a device or appliance that supports or holds a movable part of the body in correct position while allowing motion of the part.

(10) In fashion, an alternative name for suspender (almost always in the plural as braces).

(11) A pair; a couple, used originally of dogs, and later of animals generally (eg a brace of grouse) and then other things, but rarely people.  Now usually used in the context of hunting or (in sport) scoring a pair of goals, tries etc (though not related to the “pair” in cricket, the unhappy record of being dismissed twice without scoring in each innings of a first class or test match.

(12) In typography, one of two characters { or } used to enclose words or lines to be considered together.  Also called a bracket, though not recommended because technically, they’re [ and ]. 

(13) In mathematics, as { or } used for connecting lines of printing or writing or as a third sign of aggregation in complex mathematical or logical expressions that already contain parentheses and brackets.

(14) In musical composition, as { or } also called accolade, a line or bracket connecting two or more staves of music

(15) A protective band covering the wrist or lower part of the arm, especially a bracer.

(16) In military parade drill, a position of attention with exaggeratedly stiff posture.

(17) Literally and figuratively, to prepare for an impact or an event.

(18) In informal slang, to become resolute; to stimulate or freshen.

(19) A form of armor for the arm, also called vambrace (obsolete).

(20) In mining, the mouth of a shaft (apparently a localism restricted to Cornwall).

(21) A medical device, a kind of compression fitting used on joints (ankles, knees etc) to provide support during the healing process.

(22) A measurement of length, originally representing a person's outstretched arms (obsolete).

(23) In engineering, 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.

(24) A kind of riding equipment or horse tack (in historic reference only).

(25) A peninsula; a cape or slice of land jutting into the sea (in historic reference only).

(26) A perch (unit of measure) (in historic reference only).

(27) A point of a cross or rood (in historic reference only).

1300–1350: From the Middle English brace & bracen and the Anglo-French bracier borrowed from the from the Old French brace (arm), derived from the Latin brāchia & brācchia (the nominative and accusative plural (taken as feminine singular)) of brāchium & brācchium (arm) drawn from the Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn), most influenced by the plural Latin form bracchia (two arms).  The variety of spellings from the medieval period are extinct, the usual forms now bracchium or bracchia in the plural.  The prior etymology is wholly speculative, may have come from Gothic brasa (glowing coal), Proto-Germanic brasō (crackling coal) or the primitive bhres (to crack, break, burst).  It was cognate was the French braise (embers), Swedish brasa (to roast) and Icelandic brasa (to harden by fire), all thought related to the Sanskrit भ्रज bhraja (fire).  Brace & bracing are nouns & verbs and braced is a verb & adjective; the noun plural is braces.

The original, early fourteenth century meaning was “an item of armor for the arms (and also “a thong or strap for fastening”), reflect the link to the Old French brace (arms) and it was from here that emerged brace as “a length measured by the span of a man’s two arms”.  The meaning "that which holds two or more things firmly together" (derived originally on the notion of clasping arms) emerged in the mid-fifteenth century and came to be applied to an array of fastening and tightening devices in a wide range of endeavours including art, engineering, carpentry, agriculture et al.  The specific meaning as a “prop, supporting strut” began in architecture in the 1520s and came to be applied to just about anything involving physical objects, the figurative use noted from the late sixteenth century.  The idea of things in pairs (first dogs, later game such as ducks, grouse etc) dates from circa 1400 and was later applied to various pairs (pistols, carriages et al); the use in sport to describe scoring twice in the one game (goals, tries etc) was a twentieth century coining, apparently by print journalists wanting something different from “pair” or “two”.  Braces in the sense of “straps passing over the shoulders to hold up the trousers” was from 1798, used after 1945 to describe the hardware used for wires for straightening the teeth.

The verb brace emerged in the mid-fourteenth century meaning both “to seize, grasp, hold firmly” & “wrap, enshroud; tie up, fetter”, something gained from the Old French bracier (to embrace), again the idea of grasping by the arms.  The meaning "make tense, render firm or steady by tensing" was noted from the mid-fifteenth century although decades earlier it had been used in the figurative sense of "strengthen or comfort someone”.  From this, by the 1740s, developed the later extension to tonics which "brace" the nerves (the bracer a "stiff drink"), a throwback to the original bracer (the early fourteenth century piece of armor protecting the arm) and by 1826 a bracer had assumed the specific use as “an alcoholic drink taken early in the morning”.  From the 1580s, a bracer was also “any sort of stay or clamp which braces or makes firm”, used typically in engineering or construction.  To brace oneself (place oneself in the position of a brace in anticipation of some shock or impact) is documented by 1805 but there is peripheral evidence the phrase may have been in use as early as circa 1500, probably in relation to horse-drawn transport and now familiar to many from the safety demonstration dutifully conducted by flight attendants before every take-off.  Because braces are designed and used for many purposes, there are a large number of derived terms including angle brace, curly brace, neck brace, ankle brace, tower brace, tower brace etc.

Lindsay Lohan’s injured right ankle in foot-brace, Mykonos, Greece, 2018.  It’s believed she made a good recovery but may never play rugby again.

Knocking back a bracer: Crooked Hillary Clinton enjoys a quick belt of Crown Royal Bourbon Whiskey, Bronko's restaurant, Crown Point, Indiana, Saturday 12 April, 2008.

Brace of single-shot duelling pistols in hardwood case, featured by Hallowell, the design from England and in vogue circa 1770-1850.  Many items were produced in pairs for many reasons but with duelling pistols it was obviously culturally deterministic.  Most used either flintlock or percussion ignition, and were supplied with the cleaning and loading accessories (the cleaning kit still something to ensure is supplied when one buys (or otherwise obtains) one’s AK47).  Duelling pistols tended to be lighter than contemporary service pistols and were often made with a finer finish, reflecting the upper-class market for which they were produced.  The ballistics techniques varied and although most appear to have been smooth-bored, some were scratch-rifled and there were octagon (or octagon-to-round) barrels, all around 9-10 inches (228-254 mm) long.  Almost all were forged from some form of Damascus steel, with bores slightly larger than a half-inch (50 mm) and supplied with ramrods, rudimentary sights front and rear, single-set triggers, roller-bearing frizzens and curved grips integral with full or half-stocks.  Although usually of high quality construction (sometimes with silver furniture), unlike the boxed braces produced for display or ceremonial purposes, duelling pistols tended to be relatively plain and unembellished.

Noted pheasant plucker Boris Johnson (b 1964, UK prime-minister 2019-2022) after bagging a brace of pheasants.

1970 Dodge Hemi Challenger with strut brace (also called strut bar), triangulated against the firewall.  Strut braces are stiff metal bars which connect the strut towers (front or rear), the purpose being enhanced structural rigidity.  Depending on the vehicle, the difference can be anything from transformative to non-existent and manufacturers of high-end machinery are aware of their appeal.  There have in recent decades been enormous advances in structural engineering and engineers admit that on some exotic machinery, the torsional rigidity is so high that strut braces add nothing except a little additional weight but they’re installed anyway, simply for the visual effect and to meet buyer expectation.  They’re a popular retro-fit to many of the machines from the 1960s and 1970s which frankly were over-powered when new and more so when modified.

DPRK’s military parades.  The 2010 event (left) during the era of the Dear Leader and the 2015 event (right) after the accession of the Supreme Leader.

Although in production for almost two decades, Mercedes-Benz built only 2677 600s and of those, 428 were the long-wheelbase Pullmans.  Of those, 59 were the Landaulets with a convertible roof extending either over the rearmost seats or the whole passenger compartment.  Just 12 of the latter were built and the only one known to have bought a brace was Kim Il-sung (Kim I, 1912–1994; Great Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the DPRD, North Korea)) who ordered two in 1968.  Just as the DPRK and its grateful population passed to his descendents, Kim Jong-il (1941–2011; Kim II, Dear Leader of the DPRK 1994-2011) and Kim Jong-un (Kim III, b 1983; Supreme Leader of the DPRK since 2011), they also inherited the Landaulets which for decades were a fixture at state occasions like military parades.  Buying a brace ensured an unusual distinction of rarity; the parades are said to be the only occasions when two 600 long-roof Landaulets were seen in the same place at the same time.  The Supreme Leader updated in 2015 to the new S600 Pullman Landaulets but they’re mass-produced compared with the original, lack gravitas and look something like a very big Hyundai.  For this reason, the old 600s are retained for occasions when there’s a need really to impress folks and maintain the dynasty’s image of continuity which stretches back to the Great Leader.