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Webster 1913 Edition


Bristle

Bris′tle

(brĭs′s’l)
,
Noun.
[OE.
bristel
,
brustel
, AS.
bristl
,
byrst
; akin to D.
borstel
, OHG.
burst
, G.
borste
, Icel.
burst
, Sw.
borst
, and to Skr.
bhṛshti
edge, point, and prob, L.
fastigium
extremity, Gr.
ἄφλαστον
stern of a ship, and E.
brush
,
burr
, perh. to
brad
. √96.]
1.
A short, stiff, coarse hair, as on the back of swine.
2.
(Bot.)
A stiff, sharp, roundish hair.
Gray.

Bris′tle

,
Verb.
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.
Shakespeare
Boy,
bristle
thy courage up.
Shakespeare
2.
To fix a bristle to;
as, to
bristle
a thread
.

Bris′tle

,
Verb.
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 defiance or indignation.
To bristle up
,
to show anger or defiance.

Webster 1828 Edition


Bristle

BRIS'TLE

,
Noun.
bris'l.
1.
The stiff glossy hair of swine, especially that growing on the back, used for making brushes; similar hair on other animals.
2.
A species of pubescence on plants, in form of stiff roundish hair.

BRIS'TLE

,
Verb.
T.
To erect in bristles; to erect in defiance or anger, like a swine; as, to bristle the crest.
1.
To fix a bristle; as, to bristle a thread.

BRIS'TLE

,
Verb.
I.
To rise or stand erect; as, the hair bristles.
1.
To raise the head and strut, as in anger or defiance; as, a man bristles up to another. In this sense the word is common in the U. States,but generally pronounced brustle.

Definition 2024


Bristle

Bristle

See also: bristle

English

Proper noun

Bristle

  1. (slang, humorous) Bristol, England (in imitation of the local dialect)
    • Krek Waiter, Peak Bristle.
      Correct Way to Speak Bristol.

bristle

bristle

See also: Bristle

English

Noun

bristle (plural bristles)

  1. A stiff or coarse hair.
  2. The hair or straws that make up a brush, broom, or similar item.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

bristle (third-person singular simple present bristles, present participle bristling, simple past and past participle bristled)

  1. To rise or stand erect, like bristles.
    • Sir Walter Scott
      His hair did bristle upon his head.
  2. To appear as if covered with bristles; to have standing, thick and erect, like bristles.
    • Thackeray
      the hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten thousand bayonets
    • Macaulay
      ports bristling with thousands of masts
  3. To be on one's guard or raise one's defenses; to react with fear, suspicion, or distance.
    • Shakespeare
      Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty / Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest.
    • 2013 June 22, Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
      Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.
    The employees bristled at the prospect of working through the holidays.
  4. To fix a bristle to.
    to bristle a thread

Translations

Derived terms

Anagrams