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bra: bra: [20] The word bra made its first appearance in English in the mid 1930s. It is of course an abbreviation of brassiere (an early alternative abbreviated form was bras), which was borrowed from French around 1910. The French term originated in the 17th century, when it meant simply ‘bodice’; it appears to have been an alteration of an earlier, Old French braciere ‘piece of armour for the arm or wrist’ (borrowed into English as bracer in the 14th century), a derivative of bras ‘arm’.
brace: brace: [14] English borrowed brace from Old French brace, which meant simply ‘(the length measured by) two arms’. It came from Latin bracchia, the plural of bracchium ‘arm’ (source of French bras ‘arm’, and also of various English technical terms, such as brachiopod [19], a type of shellfish, literally ‘arm-foot’). The word’s ultimate source was Greek brakhíōn ‘arm’, originally ‘upper arm’, which was formed from the comparative of brakhús ‘short’, a relative of English brief (the sense development is probably that the upper arm was named from being ‘shorter’ than the forearm).

Of the rather diverse range of meanings the word has in modern English, ‘pair’ derives from the original notion of ‘twoness’, while ‘strengthening or supporting structure’ owes much to the idea of ‘clasping’, mainly contained originally in the verb brace [14], from Old French bracier ‘put one’s arms around’ (a derivative of Old French brace). In English it now only means ‘support, strengthen’, the sense ‘clasp with the arms’ being reserved to embrace [14], from Old French embracer.
=> brief, embrace
trace: trace: English has two distinct words trace, but they come from the same ultimate ancestor. This was tractus (source also of English tract, tractor, treat, etc), the past participle of Latin trahere ‘pull’. This passed into Old French as trait ‘pulling, draught’, hence ‘harness-strap’, from which English gets trait [16]. Its plural trais was borrowed by English as trace ‘harness-strap’ [14]. Tractus also formed the basis of a Vulgar Latin verb *tractiāre ‘drag’, which evolved into Old French tracier ‘make one’s way’, source of the English verb trace [14].

A noun trace was also derived from tracier, and this too was acquired by English as trace [13]. At first it denoted a ‘path’ or ‘track’; the modern sense ‘visible sign’ did not develop until the 17th century.
=> attract, contract, tract, tractor, trait, treat
brace (v.): mid-14c., "to seize, grasp," also "wrap, enshroud; tie up, fetter," from Old French bracier "to embrace," from brace "arms" (see brace (n.)). Meaning "to render firm or steady by tensing" is mid-15c., earlier in figurative sense "strengthen or comfort" (someone), early 15c., with later extension to tonics, etc. that "brace" the nerves (compare bracer "stiff drink"). Related: Braced; bracing.
brassiere (n.): 18c., "woman's underbodice," from French brassière "child's chemise; shoulder strap" (17c.), from Old French braciere "arm guard" (14c.), from bras "an arm," from Latin bracchium (see brace (n.)). Modern use is a euphemistic borrowing employed in the garment trade by 1902.
disgrace (v.): 1550s, "disfigure," from Middle French disgracier (16c.), from Italian disgraziare, from disgrazia "misfortune, deformity," from dis- "opposite of" (see dis-) + grazia "grace" (see grace). Meaning "bring shame upon" is from 1590s. Related: Disgraced; disgracing. The noun is 1580s, from Middle French disgrace (16c.).
embrace (v.): mid-14c., "clasp in the arms," from Old French embracier (12c., Modern French embrasser) "clasp in the arms, enclose; covet, handle, cope with," from assimilated form of en- "in" (see en- (1)) + brace, braz "the arms," from Latin bracchium (neuter plural brachia); see brace (n.). Related: Embraced; embracing; embraceable. Replaced Old English clyppan (see clip (v.2)), also fæðm (see fathom (v.)). Sexual sense is from 1590s.
retrace (v.): 1690s, from French retracer "to trace again," from Middle French retracier, from re- "again" (see re-) + tracier "to trace" (see trace (v.)). Related: Retraced; retracing.
trace (v.): late 14c., "follow (a course); draw a line, make an outline of something," also figurative; "ponder, investigate," from Old French tracier "look for, follow, pursue" (12c., Modern French tracer), from Vulgar Latin *tractiare "delineate, score, trace" (source also of Spanish trazar "to trace, devise, plan out," Italian tracciare "to follow by foot"), a frequentative form from Latin tractus "track, course," literally "a drawing out," from past participle stem of trahere "to pull, draw" (see tract (n.1)).

Meaning "move along, pass over" (a path, etc.) is attested from c. 1400; that of "track down, follow the trail of" is early 15c. Meaning "copy a drawing on a transparent sheet laid over it" is recorded from 1762. Related: Traced; tracing.
trace (n.1): "track made by passage of a person or thing," c. 1300, from Old French trace "mark, imprint, tracks" (12c.), back-formation from tracier (see trace (v.)). Scientific sense of "indication of minute presence in some chemical compound" is from 1827. Traces "vestiges" is from c. 1400.