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broach

 [brohch]   Example Sentences Origin

broach

   [brohch]
noun
1.
Machinery. an elongated, tapered, serrated cutting tool for shaping and enlarging holes.
2.
a spit for roasting meat.
3.
a gimlet for tapping casks.
4.
(in a lock) a pin receiving the barrel of a key.
5.
Also, broach spire. Architecture. an octagonal spire rising directly from a tower without any intervening feature.
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6.
Masonry. a pointed tool for the rough dressing of stone.
7.
brooch.
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verb (used with object)
8.
to enlarge and finish with a broach.
9.
to mention or suggest for the first time: to broach a subject.
10.
to draw (beer, liquor, etc.), as by tapping: to broach beer from a keg.
11.
to tap or pierce.
12.
Masonry. to shape or dress (a block of stone).

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Broach is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about.
to bark; yelp.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object)
13.
Nautical. (of a sailing vessel) to veer to windward.
14.
to break the surface of water; rise from the sea, as a fish or a submarine.
Origin:
1175–1225; (noun) Middle English broche < Anglo-French, Old French < Vulgar Latin *brocca spike, horn, tap of a cask (Medieval Latin broca), noun use of feminine of Latin adj. brocc(h)us projecting (said of teeth); (v.) Middle English brochen < Old French broch(i)er, derivative of the noun

Related forms
broach·er, noun
un·broached, adjective

Can be confused: broach, brooch.

Synonyms
8. introduce, propose, bring up, submit, advance.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To broach
Example Sentences
  • He was unwilling to broach the delicate subject with just about anyone.
  • The question is how and when to broach the subject in order to do more good than harm.
  • Later chapters broach hot-button topics like genetically modified food and the backlash against animal testing.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
broach1 (brəʊtʃ)
 
—vb
1.  (tr) to initiate (a topic) for discussion: to broach a dangerous subject
2.  (tr) to tap or pierce (a container) to draw off (a liquid): to broach a cask; to broach wine
3.  (tr) to open in order to begin to use: to broach a shipment
4.  (intr) to break the surface of the water: the trout broached after being hooked
5.  (tr) machinery to enlarge and finish (a hole) by reaming
 
—n
6.  a long tapered toothed cutting tool for enlarging holes
7.  a spit for roasting meat, etc
8.  a roof covering the corner triangle on the top of a square tower having an octagonal spire
9.  a pin, forming part of some types of lock, that registers in the hollow bore of a key
10.  a tool used for tapping casks
11.  a less common spelling of brooch
 
[C14: from Old French broche, from Vulgar Latin brocca (unattested), from Latin brochus projecting]
 
'broacher1
 
—n

broach2 (brəʊtʃ)
 
—vb
(usually foll by to) nautical to cause (a sailing vessel) to swerve sharply and dangerously or (of a sailing vessel) to swerve sharply and dangerously in a following sea, so as to be broadside to the waves
 
[C18: perhaps from broach1 in obsolete sense of turn on a spit]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

broach
"pointed instrument," c.1300, from O.Fr. broche (12c.) "spit for roasting, awl, point end, top," from V.L. *brocca "pointed tool," originally fem. of L. adj. broccus "projecting, pointed" (used especially of teeth), perhaps of Gaulish origin (cf. Gaelic brog "awl").
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broach
"begin to talk about," 1570s, from figurative use of the lit. meaning "to pierce" (early 14c.), with suggestions of "broaching" a cask or spurring into action (cf. O.Fr. brochier, 12c., "to spur," also "to penetrate sexually"); from the same source as broach (n.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

broach (brōch)
n.
A dental instrument for removing the pulp of a tooth or exploring its canal.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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