As a noun, a device that slows or stops a moving vehicle; as a verb, to use that device.
Probably from Middle Dutch “brake,” a tool used to break flax or hemp, related to “break.” The sense shifted to something that “breaks” or checks motion.
A brake is literally a motion‑breaker: the same mental image as snapping a stick, but applied to speed instead. The spelling keeps it distinct from “break,” but the idea under the hood is the same.
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