The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Rush \Rush\, n. [OE. rusche, rische, resche, AS. risce, akin to
   LG. rusk, risch, D. & G. rusch; all probably fr. L. ruscum
   butcher's broom; akin to Goth. raus reed, G. rohr.]
   1. (Bot.) A name given to many aquatic or marsh-growing
      endogenous plants with soft, slender stems, as the species
      of Juncus and Scirpus.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Some species are used in bottoming chairs and plaiting
         mats, and the pith is used in some places for wicks to
         lamps and rushlights.
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   2. The merest trifle; a straw.
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            John Bull's friendship is not worth a rush.
                                                  --Arbuthnot.
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   Bog rush. See under Bog.

   Club rush, any rush of the genus Scirpus.

   Flowering rush. See under Flowering.

   Nut rush
      (a) Any plant of the genus Scleria, rushlike plants with
          hard nutlike fruits.
      (b) A name for several species of Cyperus having
          tuberous roots.

   Rush broom, an Australian leguminous plant (Viminaria
      denudata), having long, slender branches. Also, the
      Spanish broom. See under Spanish.

   Rush candle, See under Candle.

   Rush grass, any grass of the genus Vilfa, grasses with
      wiry stems and one-flowered spikelets.

   Rush toad (Zool.), the natterjack.

   Scouring rush. (Bot.) Same as Dutch rush, under Dutch.


   Spike rush, any rushlike plant of the genus Eleocharis,
      in which the flowers grow in dense spikes.

   Sweet rush, a sweet-scented grass of Arabia, etc.
      (Andropogon schoenanthus), used in Oriental medical
      practice.

   Wood rush, any plant of the genus Luzula, which differs
      in some technical characters from Juncus.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Scour \Scour\ (skour), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scoured; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Scouring.] [Akin to LG. sch["u]ren, D. schuren,
   schueren, G. scheuern, Dan. skure; Sw. skura; all possibly
   fr. LL. escurare, fr. L. ex + curare to take care. Cf.
   Cure.]
   1. To rub hard with something rough, as sand or Bristol
      brick, especially for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by
      friction; to make clean or bright; to cleanse from grease,
      dirt, etc., as articles of dress.
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   2. To purge; as, to scour a horse.
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   3. To remove by rubbing or cleansing; to sweep along or off;
      to carry away or remove, as by a current of water; --
      often with off or away.
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            [I will] stain my favors in a bloody mask,
            Which, washed away, shall scour my shame with it.
                                                  --Shak.
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   4. [Perhaps a different word; cf. OF. escorre, escourre, It.
      scorrere, both fr. L. excurrere to run forth. Cf.
      Excursion.] To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to
      traverse or search thoroughly; as, to scour the coast.
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            Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. --Pope.
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   5. To cleanse or clear, as by a current of water; to flush.

            If my neighbor ought to scour a ditch. --Blackstone.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   Scouring barrel, a tumbling barrel. See under Tumbling.


   Scouring cinder (Metal.), a basic slag, which attacks the
      lining of a shaft furnace. --Raymond.

   Scouring rush. (Bot.) See Dutch rush, under Dutch.

   Scouring stock (Woolen Manuf.), a kind of fulling mill.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Dutch \Dutch\, a. [D. duitsch German; or G. deutsch, orig.,
   popular, national, OD. dietsc, MHG. diutsch, tiutsch, OHG.
   diutisk, fr. diot, diota, a people, a nation; akin to AS.
   pe['o]d, OS. thiod, thioda, Goth. piuda; cf. Lith. tauta
   land, OIr. tuath people, Oscan touto. The English have
   applied the name especially to the Germanic people living
   nearest them, the Hollanders. Cf. Derrick, Teutonic.]
   Pertaining to Holland, or to its inhabitants.
   [1913 Webster]

   Dutch auction. See under Auction.

   Dutch cheese, a small, pound, hard cheese, made from skim
      milk.

   Dutch clinker, a kind of brick made in Holland. It is
      yellowish, very hard, and long and narrow in shape.

   Dutch clover (Bot.), common white clover (Trifolium
      repens), the seed of which was largely imported into
      England from Holland.

   Dutch concert, a so-called concert in which all the singers
      sing at the same time different songs. [Slang]

   Dutch courage, the courage of partial intoxication. [Slang]
      --Marryat.

   Dutch door, a door divided into two parts, horizontally, so
      arranged that the lower part can be shut and fastened,
      while the upper part remains open.

   Dutch foil, Dutch leaf, or Dutch gold, a kind of brass
      rich in copper, rolled or beaten into thin sheets, used in
      Holland to ornament toys and paper; -- called also Dutch
      mineral, Dutch metal, brass foil, and bronze leaf.


   Dutch liquid (Chem.), a thin, colorless, volatile liquid,
      C2H4Cl2, of a sweetish taste and a pleasant ethereal
      odor, produced by the union of chlorine and ethylene or
      olefiant gas; -- called also Dutch oil. It is so called
      because discovered (in 1795) by an association of four
      Hollandish chemists. See Ethylene, and Olefiant.

   Dutch oven, a tin screen for baking before an open fire or
      kitchen range; also, in the United States, a shallow iron
      kettle for baking, with a cover to hold burning coals.

   Dutch pink, chalk, or whiting dyed yellow, and used in
      distemper, and for paper staining. etc. --Weale.

   Dutch rush (Bot.), a species of horsetail rush or
      Equisetum (Equisetum hyemale) having a rough,
      siliceous surface, and used for scouring and polishing; --
      called also scouring rush, and shave grass. See
      Equisetum.

   Dutch tile, a glazed and painted ornamental tile, formerly
      much exported, and used in the jambs of chimneys and the
      like.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Dutch was formerly used for German.
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               Germany is slandered to have sent none to this
               war [the Crusades] at this first voyage; and that
               other pilgrims, passing through that country,
               were mocked by the Dutch, and called fools for
               their pains.                       --Fuller.
         [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Equisetum \Eq`ui*se"tum\, n.; pl. Equiseta. [L., the
   horsetail, fr. equus horse + seta a thick,, stiff hair,
   bristle.] (Bot.)
   A genus of vascular, cryptogamic, herbaceous plants; -- also
   called horsetails.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: The Equiseta have hollow jointed stems and no true
         leaves. The cuticle often contains siliceous granules,
         so that one species (E. hyemale) is used for scouring
         and polishing, under the name of Dutch rush or
         scouring rush.
         [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

scouring rush
    n 1: evergreen erect horsetail with rough-edged stems; formerly
         used for scouring utensils [syn: scouring rush, rough
         horsetail, Equisetum hyemale, Equisetum hyemale
         robustum, Equisetum robustum]