bramble
/ˈbramb(ə)l
/noun
1A prickly scrambling shrub of the rose family, especially a blackberry.Gone were the blossoms of blackthorns, brambles, sweet roses, violets, and pungent garlics....
- Shrouded in bracken and blackberry brambles is a bush dangling dozens of berries like Christmas tree ornaments.
- And at the other end is a garden all in brambles and briar rose.
1.1British The fruit of the blackberry.The wine is very juicy with ripe berry fruit, brambles, a sprinkling of spice and round tannins....
- It has flavours of cranberry, cherry, raspberry, brambles, plum tomatoes and black pepper.
- Some fruit, such as strawberries, brambles and cherries, have low pectin levels and so extra must be added to ensure a good set.
verb [no object] (usually as noun brambling) British
Gather blackberries: why don’t we go brambling some day?...
- Brambling always makes me feel somewhat like the prince in Sleeping Beauty, fighting through the thorns to reach the prize.
- I have already been brambling.
- Thats what I did on a couple of days earlier this week when we spent time brambling and picking blackberries to make jam.
Derivatives
brambly
/ adjective ...- Pointer-type breeds were partially docked for motility; some spaniels because brambly debris was too difficult to clean from the plumey fur.
- In the end, though, it is attention to detail that keeps this good book from being great, that keeps it down among the brambly shadows of the scrub and canyons.
- Eve's relationship with this man, her superior, is brambly and intriguing; she is unable to work him out.
Origin
Old English bræmbel, brǣmel, of Germanic origin; related to broom.
broom from Old English:
Old English brōm was the name of the shrub. Of Germanic origin, it is related to Old English bramble. The name was applied to an implement for sweeping in Middle English when it was made of broom, heather, or similar twigs. The history of brush (Middle English) is not so clear, but both the brush for sweeping and the brush as in brushwood come from French and are probably the same word.