bra

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   An item of clothing, usually underwear worn to support the breasts.

   Mary felt annoyed at the girl; just because bras had become passé, did a girl with so pronounced a bosom have to cater to fashion? In this case practicality dictated a bra, and Mary stood at the desk feeling herself flushing with disapproval.

2. 2
   noun

   Alternative form of bro; friend, mate

   Take it easy, bra!

3. 3
   noun

   an undergarment worn by women to support their breasts

4. 4
   noun

   One of the two vectors in the standard notation for describing quantum states in quantum mechanics, the row vector; the other (column) vector being its complex conjugate, the ket.

5. 5
   name

   A city in Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy; known for being the birthplace of the Bra sausage, and the Bra cheese.

Etymology

Clipping of brassiere, borrowed from French brassière, from Old French braciere (originally a lining inside armor to protect the arm, but later a garment), from Old French brace (“arm”), from Latin bracchia, plural of Latin bracchium (“forearm”), from Ancient Greek βραχίων (brakhíōn, “forearm”), from Proto-Hellenic *brəkʰús (“short”) (because the forearm is shorter than the upper arm), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mréǵʰus.