Spragging

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Blocking a wheel, door, or other object with a wedge, chock, or bar to prevent it from moving
2. Propping up or securing something in place by inserting a supporting object underneath or against it
3. Preventing motion by jamming a wooden prop, metal bar, or similar device against a wheel or surface

Etymology: Spragging is the gerund and present participle of "sprag," a word that began as a branch. In the sense relevant here, a sprag was a wooden stick or bar thrust into the spokes of a wheel, or against a moving part, to stop it turning. The noun traces back to "spray," the old word for a twig or small branch, which is how a short piece of wood came to be used as a brake. The image is literal: a sapling pushed through the spokes is about as simple a brake as one could make. The word's sense stayed tied to that physical act of jamming a piece of timber into a moving mechanism, which is why the term still describes the same action today, whether on a cart, a mine car, or a railway wagon.