from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Brake \Brake\, n. [OE. brake fern; cf. AS. bracce fern, LG.
brake willow bush, Da. bregne fern, G. brach fallow; prob.
orig. the growth on rough, broken ground, fr. the root of E.
break. See {Break}, v. t., cf. {Bracken}, and 2d {Brake}, n.]
[1913 Webster]
1. (Bot.) A fern of the genus {Pteris}, esp. the {Pteris
aquilina}, common in almost all countries. It has solitary
stems dividing into three principal branches. Less
properly: Any fern.
[1913 Webster]
2. A thicket; a place overgrown with shrubs and brambles,
with undergrowth and ferns, or with canes.
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Rounds rising hillocks, brakes obscure and rough,
To shelter thee from tempest and from rain. --Shak.
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He stayed not for brake, and he stopped not for
stone. --Sir W.
Scott.
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{Cane brake}, a thicket of canes. See {Canebrake}.
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