birchest
noun
1.
any tree or shrub of the genus Betula, comprising species with a smooth, laminated outer bark and close-grained wood. Compare birch family.
2.
the wood itself.
3.
a birch rod, or a bundle of birch twigs, used especially for whipping.
adjective
4.
verb (used with object)
5.
to beat or punish with or as if with a birch: The young ruffians were birched soundly by their teacher.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English birche, Old English birce; cognate with Old High German birka (German Birke); akin to Sanskrit bhūrja kind of birch
before 900; Middle English birche, Old English birce; cognate with Old High German birka (German Birke); akin to Sanskrit bhūrja kind of birch
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To birchest
00:10
Birchest
is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
birch (bɜːtʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | See also silver birch any betulaceous tree or shrub of the genus Betula, having thin peeling bark |
| 2. | the hard close-grained wood of any of these trees |
| 3. | the birch a bundle of birch twigs or a birch rod used, esp formerly, for flogging offenders |
| —adj | |
| 4. | of, relating to, or belonging to the birch |
| 5. | consisting or made of birch |
| —vb | |
| 6. | (tr) to flog with a birch |
| [Old English bierce; related to Old High German birihha, Sanskrit bhūrja] | |
| 'birchen | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
birch
O.E. beorc (also the name of the rune for "b"), from P.Gmc. *berkjon (O.S. birka, O.N. börk, Swed. björk, Du. berk, Ger. Birke), from PIE *bhergo (cf. Ossetian barz, O.C.S. breza, Rus. bereza, Lith. beras, Skt. bhurjah, L. farnus, fraxinus "mountain ash"), from base *bhereg- "to gleam, white."
Meaning "bunch of birch twigs used for flogging" (1640s) led to verb meaning "to flog" (1830). Birch beer is 1883, Amer.Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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