Brake

imp. of Break.

A fern of the genus Pteris, esp. the P. aquilina, common in almost all countries. It has solitary stems dividing into three principal branches. Less properly: Any fern.

A thicket; a place overgrown with shrubs and brambles, with undergrowth and ferns, or with canes.

An instrument or machine to break or bruise the woody part of flax or hemp so that it may be separated from the fiber.

An extended handle by means of which a number of men can unite in working a pump, as in a fire engine.

A baker's kneading though.

A sharp bit or snaffle.

A frame for confining a refractory horse while the smith is shoeing him; also, an inclosure to restrain cattle, horses, etc.

That part of a carriage, as of a movable battery, or engine, which enables it to turn.

An ancient engine of war analogous to the crossbow and ballista.

A large, heavy harrow for breaking clods after plowing; a drag.

A piece of mechanism for retarding or stopping motion by friction, as of a carriage or railway car, by the pressure of rubbers against the wheels, or of clogs or ratchets against the track or roadway, or of a pivoted lever against a wheel or drum in a machine.

An apparatus for testing the power of a steam engine, or other motor, by weighing the amount of friction that the motor will overcome; a friction brake.

A cart or carriage without a body, used in breaking in horses.

An ancient instrument of torture.

of Break

large coarse fern often several feet high; essentially weed ferns; cosmopolitan

any of various ferns of the genus Pteris having pinnately compound leaves and including several popular houseplants