Nearby Words

brackets

[brak-it] Origin

brack·et

[brak-it]
noun
1.
a support, as of metal or wood, projecting from a wall or the like to hold or bear the weight of a shelf, part of a cornice, etc.
2.
a shelf or shelves so supported.
3.
Also called square bracket. one of two marks [ or ] used in writing or printing to enclose parenthetical matter, interpolations, etc.
4.
Mathematics.
a.
brackets, parentheses of various forms indicating that the enclosed quantity is to be treated as a unit.
b.
(loosely) vinculum (def. 2).
c.
Informal. an expression or formula between a pair of brackets.
5.
a grouping of people based on the amount of their income: the low-income bracket.
EXPAND
6.
a class; grouping; classification: She travels in a different social bracket.
7.
Architecture.
a.
any horizontally projecting support for an overhanging weight, as a corbel, cantilever, or console.
b.
any of a series of fancifully shaped false consoles beneath an ornamental cornice.
8.
(on a staircase) an ornamental piece filling the angle between a riser and its tread.
9.
Shipbuilding.
a.
a flat plate, usually triangular with a flange on one edge, used to unite and reinforce the junction between two flat members or surfaces meeting at an angle.
b.
any member for reinforcing the angle between two members or surfaces.
10.
a projecting fixture for gas or electricity.
11.
Gunnery. range or elevation producing both shorts and overs on a target.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
12.
to furnish with or support by a bracket or brackets.
13.
to place within brackets; couple with a brace.
14.
to associate, mention, or class together: Gossip columnists often bracket them together, so a wedding may be imminent.
15.
Gunnery. to place (shots) both beyond and short of a target.
16.
Photography. to take (additional shots) at exposure levels above and below the estimated correct exposure.

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Brackets is always a great word to know.
So is gobo. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

Origin:
1570–80; earlier also brag(g)et (in architecture); of obscure origin

un·brack·et·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To brackets
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

bracket
1570s, bragget, probably from M.Fr. braguette "codpiece armor" (16c.), from a fancied resemblance of that article to architectural supports (Sp. cognate bragueta meant both "codpiece" and "bracket"), dim. of brague "knee pants," ultimately from Gaulish *braca "pants," itself perhaps from Germanic (cf.
EXPAND
O.E. broc "garment for the legs and trunk;" see breeches). The sense might reflect the "breeches" sense, on the notion of two limbs or of appliances used in pairs. The typographical bracket is first recorded 1750, so called for its resemblance to double supports in carpentry. Senses affected by L. brachium "arm."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

brackets definition


Marks — [ ] — resembling parentheses with square corners. Brackets are often used within quotations to distinguish between the quoter's own words and those of the writer being quoted: “He [the president] made a memorable speech at Gettysburg.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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