a rope on the leeward side of a ship, controlling the position of the fore-topsail
counterbrace in American English
(ˈkauntərˌbreis)
noun
Engineering & Building
a web member of a truss subject to tension or compression under varying conditions
Word origin
[1815–25; counter- + brace]This word is first recorded in the period 1815–25. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: coupon, diorama, pullout, trolley, welterweightcounter- is a combining form with the meanings “against,” “contrary,” “opposite,” “in oppositionor response to” (countermand); “complementary,” “in reciprocation,” “corresponding,” “parallel” (counterfoil; counterbalance); “substitute,” “duplicate” (counterfeit)