embrace

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To hold someone closely in your arms to show affection; to hug.

   She embraced her son warmly before he left for school.

2. 2
   verb

   To eagerly accept or welcome an idea, opportunity, or change.

   The company was quick to embrace the new technology.

3. 3
   noun

   The act of holding someone closely in your arms; a hug.

   They held each other in a long embrace at the airport.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Embrace, recorded in Middle English, means to clasp someone in both arms. It goes back to the same source as bracelet: Old French bras “arm,” ultimately from Latin brachium “arm”; Old French brace meant “both arms” or “two arms.”

The verb is derived from Middle English embracen (“to clasp in one's arms, embrace; to reach out eagerly for, welcome; to enfold, entwine; to ensnare, entangle; to twist, wrap around; to gird, put on; to lace; to be in or put into bonds; to put a shield on the arm; to grasp (a shield or spear); to acquire, take hold of; to receive; to undertake; to affect, influence; to incite; to unlawfully influence a jury; to surround; to conceal, cover; to shelter; to protect; to comfort; to comprehend, understand”) [and other forms], from Old French embracer, embracier (“to kiss”) (modern French embrasser…

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External links

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• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary