A “setter,” or rather a dog said to hunt wild beasts, birds, and even fishes by scent. The female was called a brache—i.e. bitch-rache. (Saxon, ræcc; French, braque.)
“A leyshe of ratches to renne an hare.”—Skelton: Magnificence
· ·
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.
· 
· 