[brahy-er] Pronunciation Key | 1. | a prickly plant or shrub, esp. the sweetbrier or a greenbrier. |
| 2. | a tangled mass of prickly plants. |
| 3. | a thorny stem or twig. |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
[brahy-er] Pronunciation Key | 1. | the white heath, Erica arborea, of France and Corsica, the woody root of which is used for making tobacco pipes. |
| 2. | a pipe made of brierroot. |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
[brahy-er] Pronunciation Key | (chiefly in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee) a rustic or hillbilly, esp. one from Appalachia. |
] Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
| bri·ar 1 also bri·er
(brī'ər) Pronunciation Key
n.
[French bruyère, heath, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *brūcāria, from Late Latin brūcus, heather, of Celtic origin; see wer-2 in Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| bri·er 1 also bri·ar
(brī'ər) Pronunciation Key
n. Any of several prickly plants, such as certain rosebushes or the greenbrier. [Middle English brer, from Old English brēr.] bri'er·y adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| bri·er 2
(brī'ər) Pronunciation Key
n. Variant of briar1. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
| brier | |
noun | |
| 1. | tangled mass of prickly plants |
| 2. | a thorny stem or twig |
| 3. | Eurasian rose with prickly stems and fragrant leaves and bright pink flowers followed by scarlet hips [syn: sweetbrier] |
| 4. | a very prickly woody vine of the eastern United States growing in tangled masses having tough round stems with shiny leathery leaves and small greenish flowers followed by clusters of inedible shiny black berries [syn: bullbrier] |
| 5. | evergreen treelike Mediterranean shrub having fragrant white flowers in large terminal panicles and hard woody roots used to make tobacco pipes [syn: tree heath] |
Brier Hill, NY Zip code(s): 13614
Brier, WA (city, FIPS 7940) Location: 47.79250 N, 122.27169 W
Population (1990): 5633 (1822 housing units)
Area: 5.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 98036
Brier
Bri"er\, Briar \Bri"ar\, n. [OE. brere, brer, AS. br[=e]r, br[ae]r; cf. Ir. briar prickle, thorn, brier, pin, Gael. preas bush, brier, W. prys, prysg.]1. A plant with a slender woody stem bearing stout prickles; especially, species of Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax. 2. Fig.: Anything sharp or unpleasant to the feelings. The thorns and briers of reproof. --Cowper. Brier root, the root of the southern Smilax laurifolia and S. Walteri; -- used for tobacco pipes. Cat brier, Green brier, several species of Smilax (S. rotundifolia, etc.) Sweet brier (Rosa rubiginosa). See Sweetbrier. Yellow brier, the Rosa Eglantina.
Brier
This word occurs frequently, and is the translation of several different terms. (1.) Micah 7:4, it denotes a species of thorn shrub used for hedges. In Prov. 15:19 the word is rendered "thorn" (Heb. _hedek_, "stinging"), supposed by some to be what is called the "apple of Sodom" (q.v.). (2.) Ezek. 28:24, _sallon'_, properly a "prickle," such as is found on the shoots of the palm tree. (3.) Isa. 55:13, probably simply a thorny bush. Some, following the Vulgate Version, regard it as the "nettle." (4.) Isa. 5:6; 7:23-25, etc., frequently used to denote thorny shrubs in general. In 10:17; 27:4, it means troublesome men. (5.) In Heb. 6:8 the Greek word (tribolos) so rendered means "three-pronged," and denotes the land caltrop, a low throny shrub resembling in its spikes the military "crow-foot." Comp. Matt. 7:16, "thistle."
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