I. ˈbrisəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English bristil, brustel, from brust bristle, from Old English byrst; akin to Old High German burst, borst, bristle, Old Norse burst bristle, Latin fastigium top, extremity, Sanskrit bhṛṣṭi spike, point
1. : a short stiff coarse hair
2. : something resembling a bristle: as
a. : any of various animal structures similar to hair (as a small fine feather)
b. : the stiff short hair of a plant
c. : the manufactured material used in the face of a hairbrush
II. verb
( bristled ; bristled ; bristling -s(ə)liŋ, -lēŋ ; bristles )
intransitive verb
1. : to rise or stand stiff or erect like bristles
a dragon with fierce eyes and scales bristling in defiance — T.B.Costain
the points of his silvery mustache bristled aggressively — D.G.Geraghty
2.
a. of an animal : to raise the bristles (as in anger)
the dog bristled as the stranger approached
b. of a person : to assume an aggressive appearance or attitude
I was a little annoyed and bristled slightly — A.W.Long
that sort of antagonism which makes men bristle — Francis Hackett
3.
a. : to become covered with many closely assembled objects thrusting as if aggressively straight upward
the riverbank bristles with factories — American Guide Series: Pennsylvania
a hundred-room house … its roof bristling with chimneys — New Yorker
b. : to be very noticeably full of a particular kind of thing — usually used with with
his rucksack bristling with test tubes — E.E.Shipton
articles which bristled with dark insinuations — Ruth P.Randall
bristled with … enthusiasm — J.C.Trewin
speeches … bristling with quotations and citations — Van Wyck Brooks
transitive verb
1. : to erect like bristles — sometimes used with up
a cock bristling up his crest
2. : to furnish with bristles : attach bristles to
3. : to make bristly : ruffle
III. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English brystyllen
dialect Britain : to scorch or parch especially in cooking