1. n. (also briar) any prickly bush esp. of a wild rose.
Phrases and idioms:
brier-rose dog-rose. sweet-brier a wild rose, Rosa eglanteria, with small fragrant leaves and flowers.
Derivatives:
briery adj.
Etymology: OE br{aelig}r, brer, of unkn. orig. 2. n. (also briar)
1. a white heath, Erica arborea, native to S. Europe.
2 a tobacco pipe made from its root.
Etymology: 19th-c. bruyer f. F bruy{egrave}re heath