briar

1
[ brahy-er ]
/ ˈbraɪ ər /

noun

OTHER WORDS FROM briar

bri·ar·y, adjective

Definition for briar (2 of 6)

briar 2
[ brahy-er ]
/ ˈbraɪ ər /

noun

Definition for briar (3 of 6)

briar 3
[ brahy-er ]
/ ˈbraɪ ər /

noun Usually Disparaging.

Definition for briar (4 of 6)

brier 1

or bri·ar

[ brahy-er ]
/ ˈbraɪ ər /

noun

a prickly plant or shrub, especially the sweetbrier or a greenbrier.
a tangled mass of prickly plants.
a thorny stem or twig.

Origin of brier

1
before 1000; Middle English brer, Old English brǣr, brēr; akin to bramble

OTHER WORDS FROM brier

bri·er·y, adjective

Definition for briar (5 of 6)

brier 2

or bri·ar

[ brahy-er ]
/ ˈbraɪ ər /

noun

the white heath, Erica arborea, of France and Corsica, the woody root of which is used for making tobacco pipes.
a pipe made of brierroot.

Origin of brier

2
1865–70; earlier bruyer < French bruyère, Old French < Gallo-Latin *brūcāria field of heather, equivalent to *brūc- heather (< Gaulish, perhaps *broiko- (with early L change of oi > ū) < Celtic *wroiko- > Old Irish froech, Welsh grug) + Latin -āria -ary; compare early Medieval Latin brucus, brugaria; see -er2, -ar2

Definition for briar (6 of 6)

brier 3

or bri·ar

[ brahy-er ]
/ ˈbraɪ ər /

noun Usually Disparaging.

(chiefly in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee) a term used to refer to a rustic or hillbilly, especially one from Appalachia.

Origin of brier

3
shortening of brier hopper

usage note for brier

This term is usually used with disparaging intent to refer to those white people who migrated north and west from Southern Appalachia throughout the first half of the 20th century. These migrants, mostly from eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, were looking for jobs in southeastern Ohio and other places. Brier has negative connotations similar to words such as hillbilly and redneck . But brier has also been used as a term of self-reference by the migrants themselves and their descendants. It is a shortened form of brier hopper/brierhopper (also spelled briar hopper/briarhopper ), probably a reference to the brier bushes found in Southern Appalachia.

Example sentences from the Web for briar

British Dictionary definitions for briar (1 of 4)

briar 1

brier

/ (ˈbraɪə) /

noun

Also called: tree heath an ericaceous shrub, Erica arborea, of S Europe, having a hard woody root (briarroot)
a tobacco pipe made from the root of this plant

Derived forms of briar

briary or briery, adjective

Word Origin for briar

C19: from French bruyère heath, from Late Latin brūcus, of Gaulish origin

British Dictionary definitions for briar (2 of 4)

briar 2
/ (ˈbraɪə) /

noun

a variant spelling of brier 1

British Dictionary definitions for briar (3 of 4)

brier 1

briar

/ (ˈbraɪə) /

noun

any of various thorny shrubs or other plants, such as the sweetbrier and greenbrier

Derived forms of brier

briery or briary, adjective

Word Origin for brier

Old English brēr, brǣr, of obscure origin

British Dictionary definitions for briar (4 of 4)

brier 2
/ (ˈbraɪə) /

noun

a variant spelling of briar 1