An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Brasse

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.