2 entries found for embrace.
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embrace[1,verb] embrace[2,noun]

Main Entry: ¹em·brace
Pronunciation: im-brs
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): em·braced; em·brac·ing
Etymology: early French embracer "to hug, embrace," literally, "to put into the two arms," from em- "into" and brace "two arms," derived from Latin bracchium "arm" --related to ¹BRACE, BRACELET
1 : to clasp in the arms : HUG
2 : to enclose on all sides <low hills embraced the valley>
3 a : to take up readily or gladly <embrace a cause> b : to make use of : WELCOME <embrace an opportunity>
4 : TAKE IN 4, include
- em·brace·able /-br-s-bl/ adjective
- em·brac·er noun
Word History One of the meanings of the English word brace is "two of a kind," as in "a brace of quail." In early French, however, the word brace, from which we get our English words brace and embrace, had a more limited meaning of "two arms." The early French brace came from the plural form of the Latin word bracchium, meaning "arm." When combined with the early French prefix em-, meaning "to put into," the word formed the verb embracer, which meant literally "to put into the two arms"; in other words, "to hug." In time the word was borrowed into English and became embrace.

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