Shahi - A visual dictionary

brace

(noun)
1. A person's arm or pair of arms (French: bras), especially outstretched; the length measured by a person's outstretched arms, that is, about two yards or a fathom. (Hence later derivative meanings: "pair"; "to hold" or "embrace"; "a support"/"to support".)
2. That which holds anything tightly or supports it firmly; a bandage or a prop.
3. A cord, ligament, or rod, for producing or maintaining tension, as a cord on the side of a drum.
4. The state of being braced or tight; tension.
5. 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.
6. A vertical curved line ('{' or '}') connecting two or more words or lines, which are to be taken together; thus, boll, bowl; or, in music, used to connect staves.
7. A rope reeved through a block at the end of a yard, by which the yard is moved horizontally; also, a rudder gudgeon.
8. A curved instrument or handle of iron or wood, for holding and turning bits, etc.; a bitstock.
9. A pair; a couple; as, a brace of ducks or other animals; now rarely applied to persons, except familiarly or with some contempt. The connotation is that the pair are tied together (probably the brace was originally the strap that tied them). Here the plural is brace as in "two or three brace of ducks".
10. Harness; warlike preparation.
11. Armor for the arm; vambrace.
12. The mouth of a shaft.
13. (usually plural) Straps or bands to sustain trousers; suspenders.
14. (usually plural) A system of wires, brackets, and elastic bands used to correct crooked teeth.
(verb)
1. To prepare for something bad, as an impact or blow. All hands, brace for impact!
2. 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
3. To stop someone for questioning, usually said of police
4. To confront with questions, demands or requests

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