Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Broach

Broach ({not transcribed}) , noun

[Old English broche, French broche, from Late Latin brocca; prob. of Celtic origin; compare Welsh proc thrust, stab, Gael. brog awl. Compare Brooch.]

1.
A spit. [Obsolete]
He turned a broach that had worn a crown. — Bacon
2.
An awl; a bodkin; also, a wooden rod or pin, sharpened at each end, used by thatchers. [Provincial English] — Forby
3.
(a) (Mechanics) A tool of steel, generally tapering, and of a polygonal form, with from four to eight cutting edges, for smoothing or enlarging holes in metal; sometimes made smooth or without edges, as for burnishing pivot holes in watches; a reamer. The broach for gun barrels is commonly square and without taper.
(b)
(Mechanics) A straight tool with file teeth, made of steel, to be pressed through irregular holes in metal that cannot be dressed by revolving tools; a drift.
4.
(Masonry) A broad chisel for stonecutting.
5.
(Architecture) A spire rising from a tower. [Local, English]
6.
A clasp for fastening a garment. See Brooch.
7.
A spitlike start, on the head of a young stag.
8.
The stick from which candle wicks are suspended for dipping. — Knight
9.
The pin in a lock which enters the barrel of the key.

Broach ({not transcribed}) , transitive verb

[French brocher, from broche. See Broach, n.]

1.
To spit; to pierce as with a spit.
I'll broach the tadpole on my rapier's point. — Shakespeare
2.
To tap; to pierce, as a cask, in order to draw the liquor. Hence: To let out; to shed, as blood.
Whereat with blade, with bloody blameful blade, He bravely broached his boiling bloody breast. — Shakespeare
3.
To open for the first time, as stores.
You shall want neither weapons, victuals, nor aid; I will open the old armories, I will broach my store, and will bring forth my stores. — Knolles
4.
To make public; to utter; to publish first; to put forth; to introduce as a topic of conversation.
Those very opinions themselves had broached. — Swift
5.
To cause to begin or break out. [Obsolete] — Shakespeare
6.
(Masonry) To shape roughly, as a block of stone, by chiseling with a coarse tool. [Scottish & North of English]
7.
To enlarge or dress (a hole), by using a broach.
Collocations (1)
To broach to (Nautical) , to incline suddenly to windward, so as to lay the sails aback, and expose the vessel to the danger of oversetting.