briar (redirected from sweet briars)

bri·ar ¹ also bri·er  (brr)

n.

1. A Mediterranean shrub or small tree (Erica arborea) whose hard, woody roots are used to make tobacco pipes.

2. A pipe made from the root of this plant or from a similar wood.

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[French bruyère, heath, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin *brcria, from Late Latin brcus, heather, of Celtic origin; see wer-² in Indo-European roots.]

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bri·ar ²  (brr)

n.

Variant of brier¹.

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briar¹, brier [ˈbraɪə]

n

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) Also called tree heath an ericaceous shrub, Erica arborea, of S Europe, having a hard woody root (briarroot)

2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) a tobacco pipe made from the root of this plant

[from French bruyère heath, from Late Latin brūcus, of Gaulish origin]

briary , briery adj

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briar²

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) a variant spelling of brier¹

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	briar - Eurasian rose with prickly stems and fragrant leaves and bright pink flowers followed by scarlet hips eglantine, Rosa eglanteria, sweetbriar, sweetbrier, brier rose, rosebush - any of many shrubs of the genus Rosa that bear roses
	2.	briar - 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 bullbrier, catbrier, greenbrier, horse brier, horse-brier, Smilax rotundifolia, brier genus Smilax, Smilax - sometimes placed in Smilacaceae vine - a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface
	3.	briar - evergreen treelike Mediterranean shrub having fragrant white flowers in large terminal panicles and hard woody roots used to make tobacco pipes Erica arborea, tree heath, brier erica, true heath - any plant of the genus Erica briarroot - hard woody root of the briar Erica arborea
	4.	briar - a pipe made from the root (briarroot) of the tree heath briar pipe pipe, tobacco pipe - a tube with a small bowl at one end; used for smoking tobacco

Translations

briar [ˈbraɪəʳ] N

1. (= thorny bush) → zarza f; (= wild rose) → escaramujo m, rosa f silvestre; (= hawthorn) → espino m; (= heather) → brezo m

2. (= pipe) → pipa f de brezo

briar [ˈbraɪə^r] n

(= thorny bush) → ronces fpl

(= wild rose) → églantier m

briar

n

(also briarwood) → Bruyère(holz) nt; (also briar pipe) → Bruyère(pfeife) f

= brier a

briar [ˈbraɪəʳ] n (bramble) → rovo; (wild rose) → rosa selvatica; (pipe) → pipa in radica