Link Centre Dictionary

briar

UK/bɹaɪə/ US/ˈbɹaɪɚ/ uncommon

noun

1.

Eurasian rose with prickly stems and fragrant leaves and bright pink flowers followed by scarlet hips

Synonyms
2.

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

Synonyms
3.
4.

a pipe made from the root (briarroot) of the tree heath

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English brere, from Old English brēr [Old Mercian], brǣr (“briar, bramble”); further origin unknown, perhaps related to Old French bruiere (“heather”) (French bruyère). Compare Old Norse brǫrr (“briar”), whence Icelandic brörr.

Phrases

  • grin like a mule eating briars
  • smile like a mule eating briars
  • sweet briar

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

Part of

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.