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definitions

briony

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

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.

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 of briony

Historical Examples of briony

  • 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

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

Word Origin for bryony

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