Braille \Braille\, n.
   A system of printing or writing for the blind in which the
   characters and numerals are represented by patterns of raised
   tangible points or dots. It was invented by Louis Braille, a
   French teacher of the blind.
   [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

	

	braille \braille\ v.
   1. to transcribe in Braille.
      [WordNet 1.5]

	

	Braille
    n 1: French educator who lost his sight at the age of three and
         who invented a system of writing and printing for sightless
         people (1809-1852) [syn: Braille, Louis Braille]
    2: a point system of writing in which patterns of raised dots
       represent letters and numerals
    v 1: transcribe in braille

	

	22 Moby Thesaurus words for "Braille":
   Boston type, New York point, Optacon, Pathsounder, Seeing Eye dog,
   Visotoner, cane, embosser, guide dog, high-speed embosser,
   line letter, noctograph, optophone, personal sonar, sensory aid,
   sight-saver type, string alphabet, talking book,
   ultrasonic spectacles, visagraph, writing frame, writing stamps

	

	braille

    /breyl/ (Often capitalised) A class of
   writing systems, intended for use by blind and low-vision
   users, which express glyphs as raised dots.  Currently
   employed braille standards use eight dots per cell, where a
   cell is a glyph-space two dots across by four dots high; most
   glyphs use only the top six dots.

   Braille was developed by Louis Braille (pronounced /looy
   bray/) in France in the 1820s.  Braille systems for most
   languages can be fairly trivially converted to and from the
   usual script.

   Braille has several totally coincidental parallels with
   digital computing: it is binary, it is based on groups of
   eight bits/dots and its development began in the 1820s, at the
   same time Charles Babbage proposed the Difference Engine.

   Computers output Braille on braille displays and braille
   printers for hard copy.

   British Royal National Institute for the Blind
   (http://rnib.org.uk/wesupply/fctsheet/braille.htm).

   (1998-10-19)