brush

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English [edit]

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Wikipedia

Etymology [edit]

Middle English brusshe, from Old French broisse (compare Modern French brosse) from Vulgar Latin *bruscia from Proto-Germanic *bruskaz (“underbrush”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhreus- (“to swell, sprout”). Akin to Middle High German bürste (“brush”), Old English byrst (“bristle”), Middle High German broz (“a bud, shoot”), Old English brēost (“breast”), Proto-Slavic *bъrščь (“hogweed”).

Pronunciation [edit]

Noun [edit]

brush (plural brushes)

  1. An implement consisting of multiple more or less flexible bristles or other filaments attached to a handle, used for any of various purposes including cleaning, painting, and arranging hair.
  2. A piece of conductive material, usually carbon, serving to maintain electrical contact between the stationary and rotating parts of a machine.
  3. The act of brushing something.
    She gave her hair a quick brush.
  4. (uncountable) Wild vegetation, generally larger than grass but smaller than trees (Wikipedia).
    • 1906, Jack London, Before Adam, chapter 12
      We broke away toward the north, the tribe howling on our track. Across the open spaces we gained, and in the brush they caught up with us, and more than once it was nip and tuck.
    • 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, Internal Combustion[1]:
      One typical Grecian kiln engorged one thousand muleloads of juniper wood in a single burn. Fifty such kilns would devour six thousand metric tons of trees and brush annually.
  5. A short and sometimes occasional encounter or experience.
    He has had brushes with communism from time to time.
  6. The furry tail of an animal, especially of a fox.
  7. (music) An instrument, resembling a brush, used to produce a soft sound from drums or cymbals.
  8. (video games) In 3D video games, a convex polyhedron, especially one that defines structure of the play area.
  9. (poker, slang) The floorperson of a poker room, usually in a casino.
  10. (North Wisconsin, uncountable) Evergreen boughs, especially balsam, locally cut and baled for export, usually for use in wreathmaking.

Translations [edit]

implement
electrical contact
act of brushing
wild vegetation
short experience
furry tail
music: instrument

Verb [edit]

brush (third-person singular simple present brushes, present participle brushing, simple past and past participle brushed)

  1. To clean with a brush.
    Brush your teeth.
  2. To untangle or arrange with a brush.
    Brush your hair.
  3. To apply with a brush.
    Brush the paint onto the walls.
  4. To remove with a sweeping motion.
    Brush the flour off your clothes.
  5. To touch with a sweeping motion.
    Her scarf brushed his skin.
    • Goldsmith
      Snatching his hat, he brushed off like the wind.
    • 1990 October 28, Paul Simon, “Further to Fly”, The Rhythm of the Saints, Warner Bros.
      Maybe you will find a love that you discover accidentally, who falls against you gently as a pickpocket brushes your thigh.

Translations [edit]

to clean (with a brush)
to untangle/arrange
to apply
to remove
to touch

Derived terms [edit]

Terms derived from the noun or verb brush

See also [edit]

Anagrams [edit]

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