Bridgʻing joists

pl. ( Building.) The smallest beams in naked floorings, for supporting the boarding for walking upon. Bridg'ing-pieces, n . pl . ( Building .) Pieces placed between two opposite beams to prevent their nearer approach, as rafters , braces, struts , . Bridle, ( bridl ,) n. [A. S. bridl , or bridel ; Goth. bridol , ride, and ol , a strap or rein.] A restraint; a curb; a check. "A bright genius often betrays itself into many errors, without a continual bridle on the tongue." - Watts. ( Mil .) A guard to protect the arm; - used by cavalry. (Saddlery.) A riding strap or rein; specifically, the contrivance by which a horse is curbed, governed, and restrained by a rider, comprising the headstall and reins. ( Naut .) A short rope used on board a ship, serving to connect various portions of a base of a sail with the bowline, which otherwise only draws on the corner of the sail. - Bridles of the bowlines. The spans of rope attached to the leeches of square sails, to which the bowlines are made fast. - Bridle -cable. In the navigation of a ve el, when a ve el is moored by laying down a cable upon the ground, with an anchor at each end, then another cable attached to the middle of the ground-cable, is called a bridle -cable.