3 entries under this word

Bristle

Bris'tle, n.

noun

(bris'l) n. [A-S. bristl and byrst, D. bor-stel, Icel. burst, Sw. borst, O. H. Ger. porst, M. H. Ger. borst, N. H. Ger. borste.]

A short, stiff, coarse hair, as of swine or other animals.
(Bot.) A species of pubescence on plants, in form of a stiff, roundish hair. Gray.

Bris'tle, v. t.

verbtransitive

[imp. & p. p. BRISTLED; p. pr. & vb. n. BRISTLING.]

Sense 1. To erect the bristles of; — sometimes with up.

Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest. Shak.

Boy, bristle thy courage up. Shak.

Sense 2. To fix a bristle to; as, to bristle a thread. Johnson.

Bris'tle, v. i.

verbintransitive

v. i. 1. To rise or stand erect, like bristles. His hair did bristle on his head. W. Scott. 2. To present an appearance as of bristles; to have standing thick and erect, like bristles. The hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten thousand bayonets. Thackeray. To bristle up, to show anger or defiance.