Braccae is the Latin term for trousers, and in this context is today used to refer to a style of pants, made from wool. The Romans encountered this style of clothing among peoples whom they called Galli (Gauls)^[1]. This is often assumed to mean speakers of Celtic languages, though many scholars (including John Collis^[2], Peter S Wells^[3], Stephen Oppenheimer^[4]) doubt that the term Galli was primarily based on linguistic affiliation.

Braccae were typically made with a drawstring, and tended to reach from just above the knee at the shortest, to the ankles at the longest, with length generally increasing in tribes living further north.

When the Romans first encountered the braccae, they thought them to be effeminate (Roman men typically wore tunics, which were one-piece outfits terminating at or above the knee). However, braccae eventually became popular among Roman legionaries stationed in cooler climates to the north of southern Italy.

Etymology[link]

The word is cognate with the English breeches. It appears to derive from the Indo-European root *bhrg- 'break', here apparently used in the sense 'divide', 'separate'. The consonant sequence *b.r.k implies an origin in the Germanic (with regular sound change *g > *k) rather than the Celtic branch of the Indo-European languages; Celtic would regularly have *b.r.g instead, as in Scottish Gaelic briogais. The form *b.r.k is well attested in the Germanic languages (Proto-Germanic *brōkiz, see breeches).

If the Romans learnt this word from Celtic-speakers, it seems odd that the Latin word has cc, apparently resembling the Germanic form with *k rather than the Celtic form with *g. There are several possible explanations for this:

• The Romans first heard the word from Celtic-speakers who had in turn borrowed it from Germanic-speakers.
• The Romans first heard the word from Germanic-speakers.
• The Romans first heard a form with Celtic *g, but the pronunciation they came to use in imitation did not accurately reflect what they originally heard.
• The Celtic word first passed to the Etruscans, who did not distinguish between the "c" and "g" sounds. Transition through the Etruscans accounts for the Greek amorge being rendered as Latin amurca, Greek κυβερνἂν (kubernân) as Latin gubernare. Perhaps in this way "bragae" became "bracae", hence "braccae".

Notes[link]

Felix Baumgartner (born 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria) is an Austrian skydiver and a BASE jumper. He is renowned for the particularly dangerous nature of the stunts he has performed during his career. Baumgartner spent time in the Austrian military where he practiced parachute jumping, including training to land on small target zones.

Biography[link]

He was born on 20 April 1969 in Salzburg, Austria.^[1]

In 1999 he claimed the world record for the highest parachute jump from a building when he jumped from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.^[2]

On 31 July 2003, Baumgartner became the first person to skydive across the English Channel using a specially made fibre wing.^[3]

Baumgartner set the world record for the lowest BASE jump ever, from the hand of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.^[4]

He became the first person to BASE jump from the completed Millau Viaduct in France on 27 June 2004^{[citation needed]} and the first person to sky dive onto, then BASE jump from, the Turning Torso building in Malmö, Sweden on 18 August 2006.^[5]

On 12 December 2007 he became the first person to jump from the 91st floor observation deck, then went to the 90th floor (about 390 m (1,280 ft)) of the then tallest completed building in the world, Taipei 101, Taipei, Taiwan.^[6]

[edit] Red Bull Stratos

In January 2010, it was reported that Baumgartner was working with a team of scientists and sponsor Red Bull to attempt the highest sky-dive on record.^[7] Baumgartner was going to make the 120,000 ft (36,600 m) jump from a capsule suspended from a balloon filled with helium, intending to become the first parachutist to break the sound barrier; the feat was scheduled to take place sometime in 2011.^[8][9][10] Joseph Kittinger, who holds the records Baumgartner is attempting to break, was advising Baumgartner during the "Stratos" mission in the hopes of getting scientific data on next-generation full pressure suits.^[7][11] However, on October 12, 2010, Red Bull announced it was placing the project on hold after Daniel Hogan filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, California in April, claiming he had originated the idea of the parachute dive from the edge of space in 2004 and that Red Bull had stolen the idea from him.^[12][13] The lawsuit was resolved out of court in June 2011^[14] and on 5 February 2012, The Daily Telegraph reported that the project would be resumed.^[15]

On 15 March 2012 he completed the first of two test jumps from 71,581 feet (21,818 m). During the jump he spent approximately three minutes and 43 seconds in free fall, reaching speeds of more than 360 miles per hour (580 km/h), before opening his parachute. In total, the jump lasted approximately eight minutes and eight seconds and Baumgartner became only the third person to safely parachute from a height of over 13.5 miles (21.7 km).^[16]

See also[link]

• Michel Fournier, who has been working on a 25 mile jump for several years.^[17]
• Joseph Kittinger, world record holder for skydiving from 102,800 ft
• Yves Rossy, the first man to cross the English Channel using a jet-powered wing

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Red Bull Stratos Project
• Felix Jumping from the Christ Redemeer - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

External media
	Felix Baumgartner