An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Brasse

by Friedrich Kluge

Brasse, feminine, ‘rope at the end of the sailyards, brace,’ first occurs in Modern High German, from Dutch bras, French bras (from brachium), property ‘arm,’ then ‘a brace (on a yard).’ Brassen, ‘to brace, swing the yards of a ship,’ is Dutch brassen, from French brasser; compare also English brace (‘a yard rope’), of the same origin.