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brier

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brier


  4  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Brier  \Bri"er\,  Briar  \Bri"ar\,  n.  [OE.  brere,  brer,  AS 
  br[=e]r,  br[ae]r;  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.  --Cowper. 
 
  {Brier  root},  the  root  of  the  southern  {Smilax  laurifolia} 
  and  {S.  Walteri};  --  used  for  tobacco  pipes. 
 
  {Cat  brier},  {Green  brier},  several  species  of  Smilax  ({S. 
  rotundifolia},  etc.) 
 
  {Sweet  brier}  ({Rosa  rubiginosa}).  See  {Sweetbrier}. 
 
  {Yellow  brier},  the  {Rosa  Eglantina}. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  brier 
  n  1:  tangled  mass  of  prickly  plants  [syn:  {brierpatch},  {bier 
  patch}] 
  2:  a  thorny  stem  or  twig 
  3:  Eurasian  rose  with  prickly  stems  and  fragrant  leaves  and 
  bright  pink  flowers  followed  by  scarlet  hips  [syn:  {sweetbrier}, 
  {sweetbriar},  {briar},  {eglantine},  {Rosa  eglanteria}] 
  4:  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  [syn:  {bullbrier}, 
  {greenbrier},  {catbrier},  {horsebrier},  {briar},  {Smilax 
  rotundifolia}] 
  5:  evergreen  treelike  Mediterranean  shrub  having  fragrant  white 
  flowers  in  large  terminal  panicles  and  hard  woody  roots 
  used  to  make  tobacco  pipes  [syn:  {tree  heath},  {briar},  {Erica 
  arborea}] 
 
  From  U.S.  Gazetteer  (1990)  [gazetteer]: 
 
  Brier,  WA  (city,  FIPS  7940) 
  Location:  47.79250  N,  122.27169  W 
  Population  (1990):  5633  (1822  housing  units) 
  Area:  5.5  sq  km  (land),  0.0  sq  km  (water) 
  Zip  code(s):  98036 
 
  From  Easton's  1897  Bible  Dictionary  [easton]: 
 
  Brier 
  This  word  occurs  frequently,  and  is  the  translation  of  several 
  different  terms.  (1.)  Micah  7:4,  it  denotes  a  species  of  thorn 
  shrub  used  for  hedges.  In  Prov.  15:19  the  word  is  rendered 
  thorn"  (Heb.  _hedek_,  "stinging"),  supposed  by  some  to  be  what 
  is  called  the  "apple  of  Sodom"  (q.v.). 
 
  (2.)  Ezek.  28:24,  _sallon'_,  properly  a  "prickle,"  such  as  is 
  found  on  the  shoots  of  the  palm  tree. 
 
  (3.)  Isa.  55:13,  probably  simply  a  thorny  bush.  Some 
  following  the  Vulgate  Version,  regard  it  as  the  "nettle." 
 
  (4.)  Isa.  5:6;  7:23-25,  etc.,  frequently  used  to  denote  thorny 
  shrubs  in  general.  In  10:17;  27:4,  it  means  troublesome  men. 
 
  (5.)  In  Heb.  6:8  the  Greek  word  tribolos  so  rendered  means 
  "three-pronged,"  and  denotes  the  land  caltrop,  a  low  throny 
  shrub  resembling  in  its  spikes  the  military  "crow-foot."  Comp. 
  Matt.  7:16,  "thistle." 
 




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