breakneck 
breakneck (bnik'nek), . and </. [< 6m//.- + 
,l,.f ",-/.-.] I. n. 1. A fall that breaks fee 
neck; a dangerous business. 
To iln't, nr ii", is certain _ 
Tn Til,' :i In'' Ill SMifj " "'I ' '- 
2. A steep place > n<lani;cring the neclc. 
II. . Endangering the neck or Mo; ex- 
tremely hazardous: as, he rode at a taMMMft 
pace. 
On ehimney.tops, . . . over the roofs, ... on aw] 
lan'-i.'.!,. ' "ten ;". vaii.a,, -..- 
patriotic 601 ' '"''"" * 
break-Off (briik'of). //. The part of the action 
of a bneoh-loftdmg firearm immediately be- 
hind the lireerh. 
break-promise CbHUt'prom'iMi . One who 
makes si practice of (.miking his promise. 
1 uill think you tin- most pathetical break-uromue. and 
the moat hollo* lo *'"<*, As y<m Like It, Iv. l. 
breakshare (brak'shur), M. [A perversion of 
/(/..//, Minnlat inn lii-i'<il;. + ffeor.] Atermsome- 
time's used as an equivalent to linisy. 
breakstaff (brak'staf), n. The handle of a 
blacksmith's bellows. ,/. X. PMMpS. 
breakstone (brak'ston), n. [< break + obj. 
xtiiiic, after the L. name saxifraga, < saxum, a 
rock, + frangerc, to break, with special refer- 
once to their' use as a remedy in cases of calcu- 
lus.] A name given to several different plants, 
especially to species of the genus Saxifraga, 
to pimpernel (Tini/iiHi'liii ,NVu (/ro0), and to the 
parsley-pie rt (Alchemilla arvensis). 
break-up (brak'up), . and a. I. n. A disrup- 
tion; a dissolution of connection; a separation 
of a mass into parts; a disintegration; a dis- 
baiidment. 
Seldom was there a greater break-up among the specu- 
laturs tlian in the autumn of that year. J. S. M 
The general break-up of parties which took place last 
decade Tlie American, VIII. 2,s. 
671 
<. 
II. a. Pertaining to or in celebration of the 
breaking up or termination of any society, as- 
sociation, meeting, or the like: as, a break-up 
party or ceremony. 
break-van, . See brake-van. 
breakwater (brak'wa'ter), . [< break + obj. 
water.'} Any structure or contrivance, as a 
mole, monnd, wall, or sunken hulk, serving to 
break the force of waves and protect a harbor 
or anything exposed to the force of the waves. 
The breakwater at Plymouth, England, is 5,100 feet in 
length, 339 feet wide at bottom, and 45 feet at top, and at 
the level of low water of spring tides there is a set-otf of 60 
feet. The sea-slope from set-olf to top is 1 in 5. The largest 
work of the kind in the United States is the Delaware 
breakwater, at the southern extremity of Delaware Buy, 
lly ti,,.sr:iiiiv:iin, or >>"'". King of the breams, 
l',',,n,i.-.,-,,tl i*. White bream, a lUhof the tamilj 
nda.Abranu I .*-mi,rmi ininEuropean 
mten It iMnm-h lik.- Hi' I. ream, but has a iborUTBUl 
nn, larger scales, and to ios..r pharyngcal teeth. 
bream- (brc-m), t. t. [Prob., like the equiv. 
hi-iii i in-, connected with //)/// >, D. Itrcin, (mM, 
from the materials commonly used. ] .\<iut.. 
to clear, as a ship's bottom, of shells. MBWMO, 
ooze, etc., by applying to it kindled furze, 
reeds, or other light combustibles, so as to 
soften the pitch and loosen the adherent mat- 
ters, which may then be easily swept off. Also 
called broom. 
bream ;i t, . [< ME. as if "brtmc = ( )1 1" i . bremn, 
M I K ;. bn-m, m., G. breme, t. ; the same, without 
the formative -., as brimge: see brintse and 
'.] Same as bri' < '. 
breamflat (brem'flat), n. A local English (Cam- 
bridgeshire) name of the white bream, 
brean (bren), v. i. [E. dial.] To sweat; per- 
spire. [Prov. Eng.] 
brear (brer), n. Bee breer'-. 
breard (brerd), v. Same as braird. 
breast (brest), n. [Early mod. E. also brest, < 
ME brest, freest, < AS. bredst (neut., usually 
pi.) = OS. briost = OFries. briast = Icel. brjost 
= Sw. brost Dan. bryst, neut., = (with vari- 
ation of vowel and gender) OFries. brust, burst, 
borst, NFries. borst = MLG. borst, LG. borst 
= D. borst = OHG. MHG. brust, G. brust, fern., 
= Goth. brust!>, fern, pi., orig. perhaps a dual 
form; origin uncertain. Not being found out- 
side of Teut., the origin has been sought in 
the Teut. verb, AS. berstan, etc., E. burst : see 
burst.] 1. One of two soft protuberant bodies 
adhering to the thorax in women, in which the 
milk is secreted for the nourishment of infants ; 
the mammary gland and associated structures. 
2 The outer part of the thorax, or the ex- 
ternal part of the body between the neck and 
the belly, in man and beasts. 
My Eustace might have sat for Hercules ; 
So muscular he spread, so broad a breast. 
Tennyion, Gardener's Daughter. 
3 In entom., the lower or sternal surface of the 
thorax. 4. Figuratively, the seat of the affec- 
tions and emotions; the repository of con- 
sciousness, designs, and secrets; the affec- 
tions ; the heart. 
Pass by my outside, 
My breait I dare compare with any man. 
Shirley, Love Tricks, i. 1. 
Each in his breatt his secret sorrow kept. Rowe. 
5. The mind ; the secret thoughts. 
breast-knot 
To breast up a hedge, t.. . m the (are of a hedge on >!. 
ride so as t., lay I'"'''' In.- principal up. i-lit itMBld III.' 
plant- "( wliirh it is OOnsUtOUA 
II. MraM. T<> practise breasting, SB 
deer. Sec ln-iostim/, :i. 
breast-backstay (brest'bak'sta). n. .\nitt., an 
extra support to a topmast, Mnawtmg of a 
rope extending from the topmast-head on the 
weather side to I he ship's channels forward of 
the standing backstays. See littrkxtay. 
breast-bandd'rest'bamh, />. 1. Wnrt,,BMw 
of canvas or a rope fastened in some BxmVB- 
nient place, and passed rouml the l>ily if tin- 
man who heaves the lead in sounding, to pre- 
vent his falling into the sea. Also called 
parrel-rope (which see). 2. A broad leather 
band placed across the breast of a horse and 
BMd as a substitute for a collar, 
breast-beam (brest'bem), n. 1. A beam a 
the break of a quarter-deck or forecastle. 2. 
The cloth-beam of a loom. 3. The forward 
transverse beam of a locomotive, 
breast-board (brest'bord), . A weighted sled 
used in rope-walks to maintain the tension of 
the yarns while being twisted into a strand, 
breast-bone (brest'bon), . [< ME. brestbon, < 
AS. brefatbdn, < brcdst, breast, + ban, bone.] 
The bone of the breast ; the sternum, 
breast-chains (brest'chanz), . /(. Chains used 
to support the neck-yoke of a carriage-harness, 
and connected with the hames: usually called 
breast-straps when leather is used instead of 
chains. 
breast-cloth*, - A stomacher, 
breast-cloutt (brest'klout), n. A bib for a child. 
ll'riyht. 
breast-deep (brest'dep), a. As deep as from 
the breast to the feet; as high as the breast. 
Mean of * sections of Delaware Breakwater. 
A, water-line ; B, base-line. 
2,568 feet long at top, with an ice-breaker 1,353 feet long. 
-Floating breakwater, a contrivance, consisting of a 
series of tqmirc. frames of timber, connected by mooring- 
chains or -cables, attached to anchors or blocks of stone 
in sueh a manner U to form a basin, within which vessels 
riding at anchor may be protected from the violence of 
the waves. .. 
bn-xHie, F. Mine, < OHG. bralisima, brahsina, 
MHG. brow m, brnlmen, G. brassen = OS. bres- 
xfiiin = 1). bnixcm = OSw. brain, Sw. brOMM = 
Dan. brasen, a bream ; from the same source as 
barse = bass 1 ; cf. trowe 1 .] 1. A fish of the 
family Cyprinidai, Abramis brama, common in 
the fresh waters of Europe. It has a compressed 
and rather deep body, a short obtuse snout, small and 
somewhat inferior mouth, uniserial pbarypgeaj teeth, the 
dorsal tin of about 12 rays, and the anal flu with . 
rays commencing under the last of the dorsal s. It some- 
times attains a eight of 12 to 14 pounds. The flesh is in- 
sipid and little Wtee 1. Also called wllmi- bmim. See 
9. Aoyprinotd fisli related to the preceding, 
as for example the white bream orbreamttat, 
or resembling it in having a deep body, as the 
carp-bream. I'tinixxinx tiibflin. a variety of the 
crucian carp. 3. A name given to various 
SlMiridn; more fully called xrti-bri'diitx: in Eng- 
land, for example', to species of >// nw, I'a- 
;/>-iix, I'tiiit'lliix. and < 'mi tlninix, and in the United 
States to Dinkxlux liolbrooki, the pinfish, and 
to Lagoflnn rnomboiilcn, the sailor's-choice. See 
cut under Li/notlon. 4. A fish of the family 
Bramitla; as liay's bream, Brama rtii/i. S. In 
some parts of the United States, a centrarchoid 
fish, such as the common sunfish, EttpomotU 
;/i/(hxi/x. and various species of the related ge- 
nus Lfiitniii". as the blue bream. Upontt poW- 
dux. -Blue bream, the i.rimmuiiallidiu.- Bream fam- 
The choice and removal of senators, however, was l>y no 
means left perfectly free to the censors, nor had it been 
in the breaet of the consuls and dictators before the insti- 
tution of the censorial office. 
6t. In music, the chest; capacity for singing. 
An excellent song, and a sweet songster; a-fiue frnxuf 
of his own. B.Jon*on. 
In singing, the sound is originally produced by the ac- 
tion of the lungs; which are so essential an organ in this 
respect, that to have a good breast was formerly a com- 
mon periphrasis to denote a good singer. 
Sir J. llawkiiu, Hist, of Music, ill. 460. 
Set him breant-deep in earth, and famisli hlni.^ ^ ^ 
breast-drill (brest'dril), n. In mech., a drill- 
stock operated by a crank and bevel gearing, 
and having a piece against which the workman 
bears his breast when engaged in drilling, 
breasted (bres'ted), a. 1. Having a breast (of 
the kind indicated in composition) : as, broad- 
breasted, deep-breasted, etc. 2f. In music, hav- 
ing a chest: as, "singing men well breasted, 
Fiddes, Life of Wolsey, App., p. 128. 
breast-fast (brest'fast), n. A large rope or 
chain used to fasten the midship part of a ves- 
sel to a dock or to another vessel, as the bow- 
fast fastens her forward and the stern-fast aft. 
breast-gasket (brest'gas'ket), n. An old name 
for a bunt-gasket. 
breast-harness (brest'har'nes), n. A harness 
employing a breast-band, in distinction from 
one using a collar. 
breast-height (brest'hit), n. In fort., the in- 
terior slope of a parapet. 
breast-high (brest 'hi), a. As high as the 
breast. 
Lay madam Partlet basking In the sun, 
Brea*t-hvjh in sand. Drytten, Cock an.l Wat. 
7. Anything resembling the breast in posi- 
tion, either as being in front, like the human 
breast, or below, like the breast in the lower 
animals. Specifically (a) In af/ri., the front part of the 
mold-board of a plow. (6) In arch.: (1) The portion of a 
wall between a window and the floor. (2) The portion of 
a chimney between the flues and the apartment, h. II. 
Kniitht. M In carp., the lower surface of a hand-rail, rafter, 
etc M) In mininy: (1) The chamber or room in which 
coal is being mined. (2) The face at which the working 
is going on. (S) In metal-mining, a point at which a large 
mmntlty of ore is being worked: as, a fine breatt of ore. 
(e) The front part of a furnace. (/) Same as breatttnp, 1. 
In order that a wheel may lie a breast wheel, it must be 
provided with the breant or circular trough. 
Hankine, Steam Engine, S 150. 
(,l) The swelling portion of a huh. 
& That part of certain machines against which 
tlie breast of the operator pushes, as in the 
breast-drill, breast-plow, etc. 9t. A line on 
which persons or things are ranged abreast, or 
side by side. 
The troops marched in close order, the foot by twenty- 
four in a breatt, and the horse by sixteen. 
10 A bush for a small shaft or spindle Back 
and breast. s,o Mfti.-PUlar and breast 8eej>W- 
ifr To make a clean breast of, to disclose (secrets 
which weigh upon one's mind or conscience); make fu 
> onfrssion of. _ 
breast (brest), r. [< breast, .] I. trans. To 
oppose with the breast; act with the breast 
upon ; bear the breast against ; hence, to meet 
in front boldly or openly ; stem. 
Behold the throaden sails, 
Borne with tin- invi-itilc and i-ri-i-ping wind. 
Draw the hiw l.ti.nii. through the furrow d i sea, 
Breaitinj the lofty surge. **., Hen. V., Ui. (cho.). 
breast-hook (brest'huk), w. One of the thick 
pieces of timber shaped in the form of knees 
and placed directly across the stem of a ship, 
to strengthen the fore part and unite the bows 
on each side. See cut under stem. 
Her huge bows rose up, showing the bright copper, and 
her stem and breatt-hooki dripping, like old Neptune s 
locks, with the brine. 
R. II. Dana, Jr., Before the Mast, p. 10. 
breasting (bres'ting), u. [< breast + -iaql.1 1. 
In math., the curved channel in which a breas 
wheel turns. It follows closely the curve of the wheel 
through about a quarter of its circumference, so as to pre- 
vent the escape of the water until it has spent it force 
upon the wheel. Also called breatl. See bnail-u-heel. 
2 The bed against which tlie wheel of a rag- 
engine works. 3. A method of deer-hunting 
in which several horsemen ride abreast through 
the cover and shoot from the saddle. 
Breantiiil is employed where the deer make their home 
in very hig~li grass, such as U to be found on some of the 
prairies of the South-west. 
6. B. Orinnett, (iun and R.nl, p. 1..2. 
breasting-knife (bres'ting-nif), 11. In shoe- 
making, a knife used in cutting a clean face on 
the side of the heel of a boot or shoe next to 
the waist. 
breast-knee (brest'ne), . In sIiip-buiMina, n 
large knee fitted in the bows of a ship against 
the apron and stemson, to give additional 
strength. 
breast-knot (brest'not), . A knot of nbbo 
worn on the breast. 
What may we not hope . . . from the Inflm-mvof this 
Addvm, Freeholder. 
