BRAKE, pp. of break. [See Break.] BRAKE, n. [L. erica; Gr. to break.] 1. Brake is a name given to fern, or rather to the female fern, a species of cryptogamian plants, of the genus Pteris, whose fructification is in lines under the margin of the leaf or frond.2. A place overgrown with brake.3. A thicket; a place overgrown with shrubs and brambles.4. In the U. States, a thicket of canes, as a cane-brake; but I believe used only in composition.BRAKE, n. [See Break.] An instrument to break flax or hemp. 1. The handle or lever by which a pump is worked; that is, brac, brachium, an arm.2. A baker's kneading trough.3. A sharp bit, or snaffle.4. A machine for confining refractory horses, while the smith is shoeing them.5. That part of the carriage of a movable battery or engine which enables it to turn.6. A large heavy harrow for breaking clods after plowing; called also a drag.
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