BRISTLES

Noun

bristles

plural of bristle

Verb

bristles

Third-person singular simple present indicative form of bristle

Anagrams

• blisters

Source: Wiktionary


BRISTLE

Bris"tle, n. Etym: [OE. bristel, brustel, AS. bristl, byrst; akin to D. borstel, OHG. burst, G. borste, Icel. burst, Sw. borst, and to Skr. bh edge, point, and prob, L. fastigium extremity, Gr. brush, burr, perh. to brad. sq. root96.]

1. A short, stiff, coarse hair, as on the back of swine.

2. (Bot.)

Definition: A stiff, sharp, roundish hair. Gray.

Bris"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bristled; p. pr. & vb. n. Bristling.]

1. To erect the bristles of; to cause to stand up, as the bristles of an angry hog; -- sometimes with up. Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest. Shak. Boy, bristle thy courage up. Shak.

2. To fix a bristle to; as, to bristle a thread.

Bris"tle, v. i.

1. To rise or stand erect, like bristles. His hair did bristle upon his head. Sir W. Scott.

2. To appear as if covered with bristles; to have standing, thick and erect, like bristles. The hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten thousand bayonets. Thackeray. Ports bristling with thousands of masts. Macaulay.

3. To show deflance or indignation. To bristle up, to show anger or deflance.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

8 January 2025

SYCAMORE

(noun) Eurasian maple tree with pale grey bark that peels in flakes like that of a sycamore tree; leaves with five ovate lobes yellow in autumn


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.

coffee icon