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American Dictionary of the English Language

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Broach


BROACH, noun

1. A spit, and in some parts of the English dominions, an awl, and a bodkin.

2. A musical instrument played by turning a handle.

3. A clasp or small utensil to fasten a vest. [See Brooch.]

4. A start of the head of a young stag.

BROACH, verb transitive

1. To spit; to pierce as with a spit.

2. To tap; to pierce, as a cask, in order to draw the liquor; hence, to let out.

3. To open, as a store. [Unusual.]

4. To utter; to give out; to publish first; to make public what was before unknown; as, to broach an opinion.

To broach to, in navigation, to incline suddenly to windward, so as to lay the sails aback and expose the vessel to the danger of oversetting.