Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various Eurasian tendril-bearing vines of the genus Bryonia, having red or black berries and tuberous roots formerly used as medicine.
- n. The black bryony.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The common name of species of Bryonia, a cucurbitaceous genus of plants, possessing acrid, emetic, and purgative properties which have given them repute as remedies for many diseases from early times. The common white- or red-berried bryony, B. dioica, and the black-berried, B. alba, are both natives of Europe. Also spelled
briony .
Wiktionary
- n. A perennial herb, of genus Bryonia, especially the common wild species, Bryonia dioica.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) The common name of several cucurbitaceous plants of the genus Bryonia. The root of Bryonia alba (rough bryony or white bryony) and of Bryonia dioica is a strong, irritating cathartic.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a vine of the genus Bryonia having large leaves and small flowers and yielding acrid juice with emetic and purgative properties
Etymologies
- From Latin bryōnia ("bryony"), from Ancient Greek βρυωνία (bruōnia, "bryony"). (Wiktionary)
- Latin bryōnia, from Greek bruōniā, from bruein, to swell, teem. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“O'er the muir, amang the heather," Eleanor's walk had gone; and her basket was gay with gorse and broom just opening; but from grassy banks on her way she had brought the bright blue speedwell; and clematis and bryony from the hedges, and from under them wild hyacinth and white campion and crane's-bill and primroses; and a meadow she had passed over gave her one or two pretty kinds of orchis, with daisies and cowslips, and grasses of various kinds.”
“Most of my hedges are jungles of the various trees, draped with blackberry, dog-rose, bryony, honeysuckle and wild hop, all scrambling about the branches.”
“It must have been a last moonflower vision that showed me jasmine and bryony growing all over the bed, I entwine.”
“Most of the paintings are about 3¼ by 4 inches in size, captioned by four lines of Latin text with oversize, illuminated capitals and surrounded by wide borders of tiny bryony leaves on coiling vines.”
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“Newmania agree bryony is awful. sam leith though is great. a real libertarian conservative.”
“The apprentice who had kneaded the bread had not noticed anything unusual either, and since his feet were swathed, the bryony would not have reached his skin to cause a rash.”
“In addition, both fresh and dried roots were used in medicine -- in a posset bryony was said to cure shortness of breath.”
“She recognized the smell of bryony and did not eat of the gingerbread because of my warning.”
“Susanna stopped herself on the verge of telling Dame Agnes that three of those former mistresses were now dead of bryony poisoning.”
“Both black and white bryony are rampant twining and climbing plants.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘bryony’.
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Flora
Flowers and plants have some of the most beautiful names.
These are often the common names, as opposed to the scientific or botanical names.daffodil, gardenia, tulip, snapdragon, violet, orchid, bleeding heart, daisy, lily, lilac, narcissus, rose and 278 more...
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delicate girl names
anne, cecily, dahlia, petal, orchid, lilac, lise, belle, melody, grace, rose, lily and 10 more...
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Lively Words
quick, quicksilver, cwic, quitch grass, cwice, vivify, viviparous, viper, weever, wyvern, viand, victual and 148 more...
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the gardener and apothecary's
bryony, chamomile, frond, sweet bay, laurel, monkshood, henbane, hemlock, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lady's mantle and 140 more...
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a modern herbal
mugwort, horehound, hellebore, chamomile, comfrey, rosemary, calendula, rose, lavender, lamb's quarters, gamboge, mustard and 108 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (B)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
balcony, bailey, baguette, bairn, balalaika, baldric, balefire, baby's breath, ballet, balm of gilead, balsam, baluster and 188 more...
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nfrank's Words
antediluvian, equivocate, inchoate, denouement, effulgent, edify, endemic, palimpsest, apropos, circumnavigate, circumlocution, cognoscente and 484 more...
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the herbalist
Started off as herbs and spices, now to herbalry and nature-based drugs of all sorts. Plus beautiful flower names!
frankincense, myrrh, basil, thyme, rosemary, paprika, cardamom, tumeric, caraway, juniper, senna, anise and 57 more...
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.flora
amaranth, anther, apothecary, birch, bloom, bramble, briar, cedar, clove, currant, thorn, thicket and 63 more...
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Beautiful Words
catharsis, soliloquy, schadenfreude, subterfuge, nevermore, incandescence, syzygy, amaranthine, serendipity, quixotic, lithe, ennui and 52 more...
Tweets
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