briar

Noun
US[brahy-er]/ˈbraɪɚ/2 syllables
Synonyms: sweetbriersweetbriarbriereglantineRosa eglanteriabullbriergreenbriercatbrierhorse brierhorse-brierSmilax rotundifoliatree heath

Open English WordNet

Noun (4)

  1. Eurasian rose with prickly stems and fragrant leaves and bright pink flowers followed by scarlet hipsSynonyms: sweetbriersweetbriarbriereglantineRosa eglanteriaType of rose, rosebush
  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 berriesSynonyms: bullbriergreenbriercatbrierhorse brierhorse-brierbrierSmilax rotundifoliaType of vineMember of Smilax, genus Smilax
  3. evergreen treelike Mediterranean shrub having fragrant white flowers in large terminal panicles and hard woody roots used to make tobacco pipesSynonyms: tree heathbrierErica arboreaType of erica, true heathParts briarroot
  4. a pipe made from the root (briarroot) of the tree heathSynonyms: briar pipeType of pipe, tobacco pipe
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Bri′ar (…), noun

Same as Brier.

Bri′er, Bri′ar (brī′ẽr), noun

Origin: OE. brere, brer, AS. brēr, brær; 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.— William Cowper

Brier root, the root of the southern Smilax laurifolia and Smilax Walteri; — used for tobacco pipes. See also 2nd brier. — Cat brier, Green brier, several species of Smilax (Smilax rotundifolia, etc.) — Sweet brier (Rosa rubiginosa). See Sweetbrier. — Yellow brier, the Rosa Eglantina.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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