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The Definition of Brackets A Friend of The Wall (creatician@poetic.com) dnb-as1s26.erols.com Wed, July 23, 1997 at 2:2AM |
bracket (bràk´ît) noun
1. a. A simple rigid structure in the shape of an L,
one arm of which is fixed to a vertical surface, the other
projecting horizontally to support a shelf or other weight.
b. A small shelf or shelves supported by such
structures.
2. Architecture. A decorative or weight-bearing
structural unit, two sides of which form a right angle with
one arm flush against a wall and the other flush beneath a
projecting surface; a console or corbel.
3. A wall-anchored fixture for gas or electricity.
NOTE THIS ONE:
4. a. One of a pair of marks, [ ], used to enclose
written or printed material or to indicate a mathematical
expression considered in some sense a single quantity.
Also called square bracket.
b. See ANGLE BRACKET.
c. Mathematics. See BRACE.
5. Chiefly British. One of a pair of parentheses.
6. A classification or grouping, especially within a
sequence of numbers or grades, as a category of incomes
sharing the same tax rate.
7. a. The distance between two impacting shells,
the first aimed beyond a target and the second aimed short
of it, used to determine the range for artillery fire.
b. The shells fired in such a manner.
verb, transitive
bracketed, bracketing, brackets
1. To furnish or support with a bracket or brackets.
2. To place within or as if within brackets.
3. To classify or group together.
4. To include or exclude by establishing specific
boundaries.
5. To fire beyond and short of (a target) in order to
determine artillery range.
[Possibly French braguette, codpiece, diminutive of brague,
breeches, from Old Provençal braga, from Latin brâcae, of
Celtic origin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,
Third Edition copyright © 1992 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Electronic version licensed from InfoSoft International, Inc.
All rights reserved.