birch

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English [edit]

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Wikipedia

Birch trees Betula pendula (1)

Pronunciation [edit]

Etymology [edit]

From Middle English birche, birk, from Old English birce, bierce, from Proto-Germanic *birkijǭ (compare West Frisian bjirk, German Birke), variant of *berkō (compare Dutch berk, Swedish björk), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérHǵos (compare Lithuanian béržas, Czech bříza, Ossetic bærz(æ)).

Noun [edit]

birch (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.

Derived terms [edit]

Translations [edit]

Verb [edit]

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.

Translations [edit]

Derived terms [edit]