bulrush

American  

[bool-ruhsh] / ˈbʊlˌrʌʃ /

noun

1. (in Biblical use) the papyrus, Cyperus papyrus.

2. any of various rushes of the genera Scirpus and Typha.

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bulrush British  

/ ˈbʊlˌrʌʃ /

noun

1. a grasslike cyperaceous marsh plant, Scirpus lacustris , used for making mats, chair seats, etc

2. a popular name for reed mace

3. a biblical word for papyrus

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Etymology

Origin of bulrush

1400–50; late Middle English bulrish papyrus, probably bull ¹ + rish rush ²

Explanation

A bulrush is a very tall plant that grows in wetlands. Another name for a bulrush is a cattail. If you hike near a marsh, you may see bulrushes poking up above the other grasses growing there. A bulrush tends to have a long, rounded seed head at its very top, and wide, strong leaves that can be used for weaving. The noun bulrush combines rush, "plant growing in marshy ground," with bul or bull, most likely used in the sense of "very large or coarse," as in the word bullfrog.

Example Sentences

In Egypt, from a very remote period, the inner films pressed together of the Papyrus or Biblos, a sort of Flag, or Bulrush, growing in the marshes there.

From The Author's Printing and Publishing Assistant Comprising Explanations of the Process of Printing; Preparation and Calculation of Manuscripts; Choice of Paper, Type, Binding, Illustrations, Publishing, Advertising, &c.; with an Exemplification and Description of the Typographical Marks Used in the Correction of the Press by Saunders, Frederick

Typha, tī′fa, n. one of two distinct reed-like plants called Bulrush.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

Bulrush, weight of pollen produced by one plant.

From Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom by Darwin, Charles

Ay, ay, Brother Bulrush, ay, ay!" replied the clergyman; "ay, ay, it is all explained.

From The King's Highway by James, G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford)

His comrades who wished to go with him were Live Coals, Ashes, the Bulrush, the Grasshopper, the Dragonfly and the Pickerel.

From Wigwam Evenings Sioux Folk Tales Retold by Deming, Edwin Willard