briar

noun bri·ar \ ˈbrī(-ə)r \

variants: or less commonly brier

Definition of briar

botany : a plant (such as a rose, blackberry, or greenbrier) having a usually woody and thorny or prickly stem

a thicket of briars

a briar patch

; also : a mass or twig of these

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briary

play \ˈbrī(-ə)r-ē\ adjective

Origin and Etymology of briar

Middle English brere, from Old English brēr

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

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Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

briar

noun

Definition of briar

: a tobacco pipe made from the root or stem of a European heath (Erica arborea)

Origin and Etymology of briar

short for briar pipe, from briar wood of the European heath, from French bruyère heath, from Middle French bruiere, from Vulgar Latin *brucaria, from Late Latin brucus heather, of Celt origin; akin to Old Irish froech heather; akin to Greek ereikē heather

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1882

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year