| braces ({ }) |
| Usage:
1. Use them to indicate a series of choices. Select your poison {whiskey, arsenic, bacon fat} and then jump. 2. Use them to indicate that series of lines is to be considered as a unit. {Roses are red Violets are nice Potatoes are tasty But I prefer rice} |
| Etymology: The word derives from the Latin bracchia, arms. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The term's first citation in this sense is from 1656: "With Printers a Brace is that which couples two or more words together." (Blount, Glossogr. s.v.) |