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birch . In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
birch , but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
birch in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
birch you have here. The definition of the word
birch will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
birch , as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Birch trees Betula pendula (1)
Etymology
From Middle English birche , birk , from Old English birċe , bierċe , from Proto-West Germanic *birkijā , from Proto-Germanic *birkijǭ , from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵos .
Cognates
Compare West Frisian bjirk , German Birke , variant of *berkō (compare Dutch berk , Swedish björk , Norwegian bjørk ), Sanskrit भूर्ज ( bhūrjá ) , Lithuanian béržas , Czech bříza , Ossetian бӕрз ( bærz ) , Russian берёза ( berjóza ) ), Latin fraxinus ( “ ash tree, ash javelin ” ) , Albanian bredh .
Pronunciation
Noun
birch (countable and uncountable , plural birches )
Any of various trees of the genus Betula , native to countries in the Northern Hemisphere .
A hard wood taken from the birch tree, typically used to make furniture.
A stick, rod or bundle of twigs made from birch wood, used for punishment .
Synonyms: makepeace , switch
A birch-bark canoe .
Derived terms
Translations
tree
Abkhaz: аҵааҵла ( acʼaacʼla )
Ainu: タッニ ( tatni )
Albanian: mështekër (sq) f , baloshe (sq) f , mështekën f
Arabic: بَتُولَا f ( batūlā )
Aragonese: abetullo
Armenian: կեչի (hy) ( kečʻi )
Aromanian: pilpet n , misteacãn n
Azerbaijani: tozağacı
Bashkir: ҡайын ( qayın )
Basque: urki
Bats: გალ ( gal )
Belarusian: бяро́за f ( bjaróza )
Bulgarian: бреза́ (bg) f ( brezá )
Catalan: bedoll (ca) m , beç (ca) m
Chechen: дакх ( daq )
Chinese:
Mandarin: 樺樹 / 桦树 (zh) ( huàshù ) ; 樺 / 桦 (zh) ( huà ) ; 樺木 / 桦木 (zh) ( huàmù )
Chukchi: выԓгиԓ ( vyḷgiḷ )
Cornish: ( collective ) besow , besowen f
Corsican: biolu m , violu m
Crimean Tatar: aqqayın , акъкъайын
Czech: bříza (cs) f
Danish: birk
Daur: caalbaang
Dolgan: катыӈ ( katıŋ )
Dutch: berk (nl) m
Esperanto: betulo (eo)
Estonian: kask (et) , kõiv (et)
Even: ча̄лбан ( cālʙan )
Evenki: чалбан ( çalban )
Faroese: bjørk f , birki n
Finnish: koivu (fi) , koivupuu
French: bouleau (fr) m
Galician: bidueiro (gl) m , bídalo (gl) m , bido (gl) m , bedulo m , biduído (gl) m
Georgian: არყი ( arq̇i )
German: Birke (de) f
Greek: σημύδα (el) ( simýda )
Greenlandic: orpik
Gwich'in: aat'oo
Hebrew: שַׁדָּר (he) m ( shaddár ) , לִבְנֶה (he) m ( livné )
Hungarian: nyír (hu) , nyírfa (hu)
Icelandic: björk (is) f , birki (is) n , birkitré (is) n
Ingrian: koivu
Inupiaq: urgiiḷiq
Irish: beith f
Italian: betulla (it) f
Japanese: 樺の木 ( カバノキ , kabanoki) , 樺 (ja) ( kaba )
Kabardian: пхъэхуей (kbd) ( pχɛxʷujej )
Kalmyk: хусм ( xusm )
Kazakh: қайың ( qaiyñ )
Ket: усь
Khakas: хазың ( xazıñ )
Khowar: بوُڑی ( buɫí )
Korean: 자작나무 (ko) ( jajang-namu ) , 박달나무 (ko) ( bakdal-lamu )
Kumyk: макъар ( maqar )
Kyrgyz: кайың (ky) ( kayıŋ )
Lak: кӏялахӏи ( kʼaˤlaħi ) , мархъ ( marq )
Latgalian: bārzs m
Latin: betula f
Latvian: bērzs (lv) m
Laz: ხჩეჯა ( xçeca )
Lezgi: верх ( verχ )
Lithuanian: beržas (lt) m
Low German:
German Low German: Bark
Luxembourgish: Bierk
Macedonian: бреза (mk) f ( breza )
Manchu: ᡧᠠᠵᡳᠯᠠᠨ ( šajilan )
Manx: billey-beih m
Mingrelian: ჭყერია ( č̣q̇eria ) , ბულიშ ცხიმური ( buliš cximuri ) , გვალიში ბული ( gvališi buli )
Mongghul: jariai xjuusi
Mongolian: хус ( xus ) ᠬᠤᠰᠤ ( qusu ) , хус мод ( xus mod ) ᠬᠤᠰᠤ ᠮᠣᠳᠤ ( qusu modu )
Nanai: пиагда̄н ( piagdān )
Navajo: kʼishchííʼ , naʼazhǫǫsh
Nivkh: ӿивс ( hivs )
Northern Yukaghir: йааң ( jaaŋ )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: bjørk (no) m or f , bjerk (no) m or f
Nynorsk: bjørk (nn) f
Occitan: beç (oc) , bedol (oc) m
Ojibwe: wiigwaas
Okanagan: qʷəqʷłín'
Old Church Slavonic:
Cyrillic: брѣза f ( brěza )
Old Czech: břieza f
Old East Slavic: береза f ( bereza ) , брѣза f ( brěza )
Old English: bierċe f
Oroqen: tʃa꞉lban , tʃa꞉lban
Ossetian: бӕрз ( bærz )
Ottoman Turkish: هوش ( huş ) , آق آغاج ( ak ağac )
Persian: توس (fa) ( tus ) , غان (fa) ( ğân )
Plautdietsch: Boakj f
Polabian: breză f
Polish: brzoza (pl) f
Portuguese: bétula (pt) f , vidoeiro (pt) m
Romanian: mesteacăn (ro)
Romansch: badugn m
Russian: берёза (ru) f ( berjóza )
Sanskrit: भूर्ज (sa) m ( bhūrja )
Scots: birk
Scottish Gaelic: beith f
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: бреза f
Roman: breza (sh) f
Shor: қазың ( k̂azıŋ )
Slovak: breza (sk) f
Slovene: breza (sl) f
Slovincian: brzôza f
Solon: qaalbang , saalbang
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: brjaza f
Upper Sorbian: brěza f
Southern Altai: кайыҥ ( kayïŋ )
Spanish: abedul (es) m
Squamish: qʷéłiʔn
Sudovian: berze
Svan: ჟა̈ჴუ̂რა ( žäqûra )
Swahili: mbetula
Swedish: björk (sv) c
Tagalog: abedul
Taos: tų́łęną
Tatar: каен (tt) ( qayen )
Tibetan: སྟག་པ ( stag pa )
Tofa: ӄадыӈ ( qadyň )
Turkish: huş (tr) , huş ağacı
Tuvan: хадың ( xadıñ )
Ukrainian: бере́за (uk) f ( beréza )
Uyghur: قېيىن ( qëyin )
Uzbek: qayin (uz)
Venetan: brèdoła f
Vietnamese: bạch dương (vi) class cây
Võro: kõiv
Welsh: bedwen (cy) f
Written Oirat: ᡍᡇᠰᡇᠨ ( xusun ) , ᡍᡇᠰᡇᡏ ( xusum )
Yakut: хатыҥ ( qatıñ )
Yiddish: בערעזע f ( bereze ) , בעריאָזע f ( beryoze )
Verb
birch (third-person singular simple present birches , present participle birching , simple past and past participle birched )
( transitive ) To punish with a stick , bundle of twigs , or rod made of birch wood.
( transitive ) To punish as though one were using a stick , bundle of twigs , or rod made of birch wood.
1902 , M. M. Read, “The Midnight Feast”, in The Boy's Own Annual , volume 25 , page 63 :That the morrow would see us arraigned 'fore the Head And probably birched with a willow
2012 , Charles J. Esdaile, Outpost of Empire: The Napoleonic Occupation of Andalucia, 1810–1812 , page 319 :[ …] and was tied to a tree and soundly birched with a bundle of furze
2013 , Hugh Thomas, Conquest: Cortes, Montezuma, and the Fall of Old Mexico , page 292 :The Mexica were always washing, in water obtained through the aqueduct, or in the lake, and would often go to the popular baths in the numerous stone steam houses (where birching , with grasses, or massage was also available).
Derived terms
Translations
to punish as if one were using a birch
References
Middle English
Noun
birch
Alternative form of birche