Brakes

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /bɹeɪks/

Definitions

1. Mechanical parts that stop or slow movement, typically in vehicles ; to reduce speed or bring a vehicle to a halt using such devices
2. Systems attached to machines to halt or decrease motion ; the action of pressing a control to slow or stop a moving vehicle
3. Components designed to apply friction and stop movement ; the process of using these parts to decelerate or stop a car or bike

Etymology: The word's most surprising thread is how many unrelated senses it has collapsed into one spelling. The braking device on a vehicle is a late development in a family of words that mostly meant plant growth, farm tools and thickets. The "brake" in "brakes" is a plural of "brake," and the vehicle sense is a late addition to a much older word. Several older senses are tangled together in the record. Old English had a plural compound "fearnbraca," meaning "thickets of fern," where the element "bracu" is likely related to the Germanic verb meaning "to break." Fern thickets were sometimes called "brackens," and "brake" is apparently a shortened form of that word, much as "chick" shortens "chicken." Middle Low German "brake" could also mean a stump or branch. Separately, "brake" meant a flax-crushing tool, and a nose ring or curb for restraining animals, which is probably why the modern sense of restraint fits so well. The mechanical sense is the one readers recognise, and it is not the oldest. The word is uncertain in origin, with possible links to Middle Dutch and Middle Low German, which entered English in the Late Middle English period. The idea of a device that checks movement grew out of the older sense of an instrument that restrains or slows something, rather than from anything to do with horses or carriages.

Synonyms: stoppers, halt, slowing devices, controls, clamps

Antonyms: accelerators, speeders, go, throttles, boosters