The word brazier—meaning a large, metal pan containing live coals—and the word braise—meaning the process of cooking food at a low temperature in a closed vessel—have the same origin. Both words derive from the French word braise, meaning hot coals, which in turn probably derives from the Old Norse word brasa, meaning to expose to fire. The word brazier entered English in 1690, about a century before the first appearance of the culinary braise in 1797. In common parlance the word brazier has been supplanted by hibachi, a Japanese word that also refers to a metal pan containing live coals. This decline of the word brazier may have been facilitated by the introduction, in 1911, of a word having a completely different origin and meaning: brassiere. The difficulty that some people have in uttering the name of this female undergarment—and other “indiscreet” words like panties, bowel movement, and Mulroney—may have caused them to seek an alternative name for the similar sounding brazier. Likewise, farmers in the 1980s were persuaded to abandon the word rave as a name for an oil-producing grain and to use a new name, canola, in its place.