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briony

[brahy-uh-nee]
noun, plural bri·o·nies.
  1. bryony.
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bryony

or bri·o·ny

[brahy-uh-nee]
noun, plural bry·o·nies.
  1. any Old World vine or climbing plant belonging to the genus Bryonia, of the gourd family, yielding acrid juice having emetic and purgative properties.
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Origin of bryony

before 1000; Middle English brionie, Old English bryōnia < Latin < Greek: a wild vine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for briony

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • In its perfect state, it feeds on the blossom of the briony.

  • To-day there was neither gravedigger nor robin—only the soft drip, drip of the rain on dock and thistle, fern and briony.

    Mount Royal, Volume 2 of 3

    Mary Elizabeth Braddon

  • The Briony, which bears in its root a mark significative of a dropsical mans feet, was adopted as a cure for dropsy.

  • The claspers of briony shoot into a spiral, and lay hold of whatever comes in their way for support.

  • The girl sat before him swathed in a darkness, with the edges of the briony leaves shining deadly—radiant above—young Hecate!

British Dictionary definitions for briony

briony

noun plural -nies
  1. a variant spelling of bryony
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bryony

briony

noun plural -nies
  1. any of several herbaceous climbing plants of the cucurbitaceous genus Bryonia, of Europe and N AfricaSee also black bryony, white bryony
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Word Origin

Old English bryōnia, from Latin, from Greek bruōnia
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