briar
.
Searchable Lemmata: briar (Ir), brer (OE), brer (ME).
Alternate Forms: briar, breer, brere.
Definitions and Defining Citations:
1(n.)
Accessory;
sharp object; pin, brooch. The word was borrowed into Irish from English; in Old English it did not have the connotations of a garment fastener. For a discussion of this borrowing as it related to the term dalk, see Etchingham and Swift (2004).(ante 800 - ante 1400)
1. briar .i. delg nuinge (.i.) óir ut est im Brethaibh nemidh. briar delg nuinge
Gloss.
[eDIL Corm. Y (143)]
Sex: Male, Female Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
Etymological Evidence:
Definite, a borrowing of Old English brēr, brǣr 'briar'; the Irish treatment of the vowel is regular (modern English briar /braɪə(r)/ is an unexpected Early Modern development paralleled by the word friar). In Old English the word is not attested as the name of a clothing fastener, whereas the Old Irish legal materials (Bretha Nemed Toísech) consider it to be the name of a specific type of brooch; cf. catit (q.v.), identified as a Pictish brooch.
WF:
Etym Cog:
