Webster's English Dictionary

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bracket

1. brack.et \'brak-*t\ n [MF braguette codpiece, fr. dim. of brague 
   breeches, fr. OProv b]raga, fr. L braca, fr. Gaulish bra-ca, of Gmc origin; 
   akin to OHG bruoh breeches - more at BREECH 1: an overhanging member that 
   projects from a structure (as a wall) and is  usu. designed to support a 
   vertical load or to strengthen an angle 2a: a short wall shelf  2b: a 
   fixture projecting from a wall or column (as for holding a lamp)  3a: one 
   of a pair of marks [] used in writing and printing to enclose m atter or in 
   mathematics and logic as signs of aggregation - called also square bracket 
   3b: one of the pair of marks {} used to enclose matter - called also  angle 
   bracket 3c: PARENTHESIS  3d: BRACE  4: a pair of shots fired to determine 
   the exact distance from gun to target  5: a section of a continuously 
   numbered or graded series; esp : one  of a graded series of income groups
2. bracket vt 1a: to place within or as if within brackets  1b: SEPARATE  
   2: to furnish or fasten with brackets  3a: ASSOCIATE  3b: CLASSIFY, GROUP  
   4: to fire a bracket on (as a target)