briar

plural briars · alternative brier · alternative Scotland breer · alternative obsolete brere · alternative obsolete breare

1. Any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera.

   Youngthes folke now flocken in every where, To gather May-buskets and smelling brere

   1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Maye. Ægloga Quinta.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC

2. figurativelyAnything that is sharp or unpleasant to the feelings.

   Rov'd far, and gather'd much : some harsh, 't is true, / Pick'd from the thorns and briers of reproof, / But wholesome, well-digested;[…]

   1785, William Cowper, The Task^(https://books.google.co.in/books?id=HqtbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA168&dq=The+thorns+and+briers+of+reproof.+(Cowper)&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiSlr2ewLXkAhUOcCsKHWbMBSgQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=The%20thorns%20and%20briers%20of%20reproof.%20(Cowper)&f=false)

   1 more example

   ¶ And thou ſonne of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their wordes, though bryars and thornes be with thee, and thou doeſt dwell among ſcorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be diſmayed at their lookes, though they be a rebellious houſe.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezekiel 2:6

plural briars · alternative brier · alternative Scotland breer · alternative obsolete brere · alternative obsolete breare

1. Tree heath (Erica arborea), a thorny Mediterranean shrub.
2. A pipe for smoking, made from the roots of that shrub.

   Then he put the insulted pipe in his pocket, corked himself up with the immense briar, and sneered at Cripps over the top of it.

   1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 12

1. A topographic surname from Middle English.
2. A unisex given name from English.