Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: French
Origin: braguette 'codpiece', from brague 'trousers', from Latin braca; because of the way a bracket (3) sticks out

bracket

1 noun
     
Related topics: Letters and punctuation
brack‧et1 [countable]
1 [usually plural] also round bracket British EnglishSLA one of the pair of signs put around words to show extra information [= parenthesis American English]
in brackets
Last year's sales figures are given in brackets.
➔ angle brackets ➔ square bracket ➔ punctuation mark
2

income/tax/age etc bracket

a particular income, tax etc range:
the highest tax bracket
families in lower income brackets
3TBC a piece of metal, wood, or plastic, often in the shape of the letter L, fixed to a wall to support something such as a shelf
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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