Link Centre Dictionary

birch

UK/bɜːtʃ/ US/bɝt͡ʃ/ uncommon
noun (3) adjective (1) verb (1)

noun

1.

hard close-grained wood of any of various birch trees; used especially in furniture and interior finishes and plywood

2.

any betulaceous tree or shrub of the genus Betula having a thin peeling bark

Synonyms
3.

bundle of birch twigs used to hit people as punishment

Synonyms

adjective

1.

consisting of or made of wood of the birch tree

Synonyms
Similar

verb

1.

whip with a birch twig

Origin

PIE word *bʰerHǵós From Middle English birche, birk, from Old English birċe, bierċe, from Proto-West Germanic *birkijā, from Proto-Germanic *birkijǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵos. Cognates Compare West Frisian bjirk, German Birke, variant of *berkō (compare Dutch berk, Danish birk, Swedish björk, Norwegian bjørk), Sanskrit भूर्ज (bhūrjá), Lithuanian béržas, Czech bříza, Ossetian бӕрз (bærz), Russian берёза (berjóza)), Latin fraxinus (“ash tree, ash javelin”), Albanian bredh.

Phrases

  • American white birch
  • Asian black birch
  • birch beer
  • birch bolete
  • birch bracket
  • birch mouse
  • birch of Jamaica
  • Birch reduction
  • birch-leaved bellflower
  • Much Birch

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.