Sprags

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Wedge-shaped stops or pole-like props that lock a moving wheel or load in place ; to brake or brace a vehicle or load by jamming a wedge against it
2. Stout wedges or timbers used to halt a wheel or cargo from rolling ; to hold a vehicle or load still by wedging something firmly against it
3. Locking wedges or short timber props that arrest motion in machinery or on wagons ; to arrest a rolling load by driving a wedge or prop beneath it

Etymology: Sprags are the wedges or blocks that stop a wheel from turning, and the word is simply the plural of "sprag", a noun whose origin lies in the word "spray", meaning a branch. The link is a branch's thin, pointed shape: a length of wood pushed into the spokes of a wheel or under a rolling object to jam it in place works like a stick thrust into the works. The sense of a stick used as a brake, rather than the twig itself, is what gave the word its current meaning.

Synonyms: wedge, chock, block