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birch

[ burch ]
/ bɜrtʃ /
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See synonyms for: birch / birched / birching on Thesaurus.com

noun
any tree or shrub of the genus Betula, comprising species with a smooth, laminated outer bark and close-grained wood.Compare birch family.
the wood itself.
a birch rod, or a bundle of birch twigs, used especially for whipping.
adjective
verb (used with object)
to beat or punish with or as if with a birch: The young ruffians were birched soundly by their teacher.
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Origin of birch

before 900; Middle English birche,Old English birce; cognate with Old High German birka (German Birke); akin to Sanskrit bhūrja kind of birch
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use birch in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for birch

birch
/ (bɜːtʃ) /

noun
any betulaceous tree or shrub of the genus Betula, having thin peeling barkSee also silver birch
the hard close-grained wood of any of these trees
the birch a bundle of birch twigs or a birch rod used, esp formerly, for flogging offenders
adjective
of, relating to, or belonging to the birch
consisting or made of birch
verb
(tr) to flog with a birch

Derived forms of birch

birchen, adjective

Word Origin for birch

Old English bierce; related to Old High German birihha, Sanskrit bhūrja
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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