brake

brake · noun, verb¹

1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*brekaną“to break”
2. Middle Low German · borrowed frombrake“nose ring, curb, flax brake”
3. English todaybrake

Origin uncertain; possibly from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German brake (“nose ring, curb, flax brake”), which according to Watkins is related to sense 4 and from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”).

brake · noun²

Apparently a shortened form of bracken. (Compare chick, chicken.)

brake · noun³

1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*brekaną“to break”
2. Old English · inherited from*bracu
3. English todaybrake

From Old English *bracu, attested in a plural compound form fearnbraca (“thickets of fern”), probably from Proto-Germanic *brekaną (“to break”) and influenced by sense 2 (“fern”). Compare Middle Low German brake (“stump, branch”).

brake · noun, verb⁴

1. Old Dutch · derived frombraeke
2. Dutch · derived frombraak
3. Middle Low German · derived frombrake
4. English todaybrake

Late Middle English, from Middle Low German brake, Dutch braak, Old Dutch braeke; possibly related to sense 1.

brake · noun⁵

Uncertain.

brake · verb⁶

Inflected forms.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 18th c. A device used to slow or stop the motion of a wheel, or of a vehicle, usually by friction (although other resistive forces, such as electromagnetic fields or aerodynamic drag, can also be used); also, the controls or apparatus used to engage such a mechanism such as the pedal in a car.
• from 18th c. The act of braking, of using a brake to slow down a machine or vehicle
• from 18th c. 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.
• from 18th c. Something used to retard or stop some action, process etc.
• 14th–19th c. The winch of a crossbow.
• from 14th c. Bracken (Pteridium spp.).
• from 15th c. A thicket, or an area overgrown with briers etc.
• from 15th c. A tool used for breaking flax or hemp.