birch

birch
I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English beorc; akin to Old High German birka birch, Old English beorht bright, and probably to Latin fraxinus ash tree — more at bright Date: before 12th century 1. any of a genus (Betula of the family Betulaceae, the birch family) of monoecious deciduous usually short-lived trees or shrubs having simple petioled leaves and typically a layered membranous outer bark that peels readily 2. the hard pale close-grained wood of a birch 3. a birch rod or bundle of twigs for flogging • birch or birchen adjective II. transitive verb Date: 1830 to beat with or as if with a birch ; whip

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Birch — ist der Name folgender Personen: Adam Birch (* 1979), US amerikanischer Profiwrestler Adolf Birch Hirschfeld (1849–1917), Romanist Albert Francis Birch (1903–1992), US amerikanischer Geophysiker Andreas Christian Birch (1795–1868), dänischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Birch — (b[ e]rch), n.; pl. {Birches} ( [e^]z). [OE. birche, birk, AS. birce, beorc; akin to Icel. bj[ o]rk, Sw. bj[ o]rk, Dan. birk, D. berk, OHG. piricha, MHG. birche, birke, G. birke, Russ. bereza, Pol. brzoza, Serv. breza, Skr. bh[=u]rja. [root]254.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • birch — [bʉrch] n. [ME birche < OE beorc < IE base * bhereĝ , to gleam, white > BRIGHT] 1. any of a genus (Betula) of trees and shrubs of the birch family, having smooth bark easily peeled off in thin sheets, and hard, closegrained wood: found… …   English World dictionary

  • birch — birch; birch·en; birch·er; birch·ite; …   English syllables

  • birch — ► NOUN 1) a slender hardy tree having a peeling, typically silver grey or white, bark and yielding a hard fine grained wood. 2) (the birch) chiefly historical a punishment in which a person is flogged with a bundle of birch twigs. ► VERB chiefly… …   English terms dictionary

  • Birch — Birch, a. Of or pertaining to the birch; birchen. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Birch — Birch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Birched} (b[ e]rcht); p. pr. & vb. n. {Birching}.] To whip with a birch rod or twig; to flog. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Birch — Birch, 1) (spr. börtsch) Samuel, engl. Sprachforscher und Archäolog, geb. 3. Nov. 1813 in London, gest. daselbst 27. Dez. 1885, besuchte die Schulen zu Greenwich und Blackheath, dann die Merchant Taylors School in London, wurde 1836 Assistent,… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • birch — (n.) O.E. berc, beorc (also the name of the rune for b ), from P.Gmc. *berkjon (Cf. O.S. birka, O.N. börk, Dan. birk, Swed. björk, M.Du. berke, Du. berk, O.H.G. birihha, Ger. Birke), from PIE *bhergo (Cf. Ossetian …   Etymology dictionary

  • birch|en — «BUR chuhn», adjective. 1. of a birch tree. 2. made of birchwood. 3. having to do with the birch used in punishing …   Useful english dictionary

  • birch — [ bɜrtʃ ] noun 1. ) count a tall tree with thin branches and an outer layer that comes off in thin strips like paper a ) uncount the wood from this tree 2. ) the birch BRITISH an old fashioned form of CORPORAL PUNISHMENT in which someone is hit… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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