BRAVE. This word was not only used to express courage by our early seamen, but was also applied to strength; as, "we had a brave wind." BRAWET. A kind of eel in the north. BRAY, TO. To beat and bruise in a mortar. BREACH. Formerly, what is made by the breaking in of the sea, now applied also to the openings or gaps made in the works of fortified places battered by an enemy's cannon. Also, an old term for a heavy surf or broken water on a sea-coast; by some called _brist_. BREACHING. The act of leaping out of the water; applied to whales. BREACH OF THE SEA. Waves breaking over the hull of a vessel in bad weather, or when stranded.--_A clear breach_ implies the waves rolling clean over without breaking. Shakspeare in "Twelfth Night" uses the term for the breaking of the waves.--_Clean-breach_, when masts and every object on deck is swept away. BREACHY. Brackish, as applied to water, probably originating in the sea breaking in. BREAD. The usual name given to biscuit. BREAD-BARGE. The tray in which biscuit is handed round. BREAD-FRUIT (_Artocarpus incisa_). This most useful tree has a wide range of growth, but the seedless variety produced in Tahiti and some of the South Sea Islands is superior to others; it has an historical interest from its connection with the voyage of the _Bounty_ in 1787. BREAD-ROOM. The lowest and aftermost part of the orlop deck, where the biscuit is kept, separated by a bulk-head from the rest; but any place parted off from below deck for containing the bread is so designated. BREAD-ROOM JACK. The purser's steward's help. BREADTH. The measure of a vessel from side to side in any particular place athwart-ships. (_See_ STRAIGHT OF BREADTH, HEIGHT OF BREADTH, TOP-TIMBER BREADTH, &c.)--_Breadth of beam_, extreme breadth of a ship. BREADTH EXTREME. _See_ EXTREME BREADTH OR BEAM. BREADTH LINE. A curved line of the ship lengthwise, intersecting the timbers at their greatest extent from the middle line of the ship. BREADTH-MOULDED. _See_ MOULDED BREADTH. BREADTH-RIDERS. Timbers placed nearly in the broadest part of the ship, and diagonally, so as to strengthen two or more timbers. BREAK, TO. To deprive of commission, warrant, or rating, by court-martial. BREAK. The sudden rise of a deck when not flush; when the aft, and sometimes the fore part, of a vessel's deck is kept up to give more height below, and at the drifts.--_Break of the poop_, where it ends at the foremost part. BREAKAGE. The leaving of empty spaces in stowing the hold. In marine insurance, the term alludes to damage occurring to goods. BREAK-BEAMS. Beams introduced at the break of a deck, or any sudden termination of planking. BREAK-BULK. To open the hold, to begin unloading and disposing of the goods therein, under legal provisions.