Wiktionary

birch

EnglishEdit

 
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Birch trees Betula pendula (1)

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English birche, birk, from Old English birċe, bierċe, from Proto-Germanic *birkijǭ (compare West Frisian bjirk, German Birke), variant of *berkō (compare Dutch berk, Swedish björk, Norwegian bjørk), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵos (compare Sanskrit भूर्ज (bhūrjá), Lithuanian béržas, Czech bříza, Ossetian бӕрз (bærz), Russian берёза (berjóza)), Latin fraxinus (“ash tree, ash javelin”)).

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

birch (countable and uncountable, plural birches)

  1. Any of various trees of the genus Betula, native to countries in the Northern Hemisphere.
  2. A hard wood taken from the birch tree, typically used to make furniture.
  3. A stick, rod or bundle of twigs made from birch wood, used for punishment.
  4. A birch-bark canoe.

SynonymsEdit

Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

VerbEdit

birch (third-person singular simple present birches, present participle birching, simple past and past participle birched)

  1. to punish with a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
  2. to punish as though one were using a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
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Derived termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

Middle EnglishEdit

NounEdit

birch

  1. Alternative form of birche
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