embrace: [14] To embrace someone is literally to ‘put your arms round’ them. It comes via Old French from Vulgar Latin *imbracchiāre, a compound verb formed from the prefix in- ‘in’ and Latin bracchium ‘arm’ (ultimate source of English brace, bracelet, and bra, and of French bras ‘arm’). The transferred sense ‘include’ developed in the 17th century (a course also taken by modern French embrasser, whose original ‘clasp in the arms’ has moved on to ‘kiss’ in response to the progression of baiser from ‘kiss’ to ‘have sex with’). => bra, brace, bracelet
