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DictionaryRoot: breken
Middle Dutch

breken

to break

1 / 1
Close-up of a bicycle rim brake with its two rubber pads pressed against the wheel rim, making the stopping device and its contact mechanism clearly visible.
noun / verb

brake

BRAYK/breɪk/

A device used to slow or stop motion, or using such a device.

Etymology
brakeMiddle Dutchto break

The breaking root first named crushing tools, especially those that broke woody flax to release fibers. The modern stopping device developed from this meaning, from associated lever or curb senses, or from their convergence.

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