Birch Definition
bûrch
birches
noun
birches
Any of various deciduous trees or shrubs of the genus Betula, native to the Northern Hemisphere and having unisexual flowers in catkins, alternate, simple, toothed leaves, and bark that often peels in thin papery layers.
American Heritage
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 in northern climates.
Webster's New World
The hard, close-grained wood of any of these trees, used especially in furniture, interior finishes, and plywood.
American Heritage
The wood of any of these trees.
Webster's New World
A rod from a birch, used to administer a whipping.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
- birch rod
- birch tree
verb
birches
To whip with or as if with a birch.
American Heritage
To beat with a birch.
Webster's New World
To punish with a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
Wiktionary
To punish as though one were using a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
Wiktionary
adjective
Designating a family (Betulaceae, order Fagales) of dicotyledonous shrubs and trees, including the hazels, alders, and hornbeams.
Webster's New World
Of birch.
Webster's New World
Origin of Birch
-
From Middle English birche, birk, from Old English birce, bierce, from Proto-Germanic *birkijǭ (compare West Frisian bjirk, German Birke), variant of *berkō (compare Dutch berk, Swedish björk), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérHǵos (compare Lithuanian béržas, Czech bříza, Ossetian бӕрз (bærz), Russian береза (bereza)).
From Wiktionary
-
Middle English from Old English birce bherəg- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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