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View synonyms for
brier
1or ·
[ brahy-er ]
noun
- a prickly plant or shrub, especially the sweetbrier or a greenbrier.
- a tangled mass of prickly plants.
- a thorny stem or twig.
brier
2or ·
[ brahy-er ]
noun
- the white heath, Erica arborea, of France and Corsica, the woody root of which is used for making tobacco pipes.
- a pipe made of brierroot.
brier
3or ·
[ brahy-er ]
noun
Usually Disparaging.
- (chiefly in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee) a term used to refer to a rustic, unsophisticated person, especially one from Appalachia.
brier
1/ ˈɪə /
noun
- any of various thorny shrubs or other plants, such as the sweetbrier and greenbrier
brier
2/ ˈɪə /
noun
- a variant spelling of briar 1
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Sensitive Note
This term is usually used with disparaging intent to refer to those white people who migrated north and west from Southern Appalachia throughout the first half of the 20th century. These migrants, mostly from eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, were looking for jobs in southeastern Ohio and other places. Brier has negative connotations similar to words such as hillbilly and redneck . But brier has also been used as a term of self-reference by the migrants themselves and their descendants.
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Derived Forms
- ˈ, adjective
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Other yvlog Forms
- İ· adjective
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yvlog History and Origins
Origin of brier1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English brer, breir, Old English ǣ, ŧ; akin to bramble
Origin of brier2
First recorded in 1865–70; earlier bruyer, from French ܲè, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin ū “field of heather, heath,” from Late Latin ūܲ “heath,” from unattested Gaulish broiko- (from Celtic wroiko-, source of Old Irish froech, Welsh grug ) + Latin - feminine of Latin noun suffix -arius; -ary, -er 2, -ar 2
Origin of brier3
First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of brier breaker, briar breaker, probably a reference to the brier bushes found in Southern Appalachia; brier 2( def )
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yvlog History and Origins
Origin of brier1
Old English ŧ , ǣ , of obscure origin
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Example Sentences
Examples have not been reviewed.
“The whole brier patch of baseball statistics is more interesting for being messed up,” John Thorn, M.L.B.’s official historian, said.
From
The M.C. gig became a brier patch for celebrities rather than a feather in their caps.
From
He hid for hours in a brier patch, clutching his .45 caliber pistol.
From
“My attitude is, ‘OK, throw us in that brier patch.
From
Camellia, sweet brier and pine trees surrounded its deserted sandy playground.
From
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