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greenbrier

greenbrier

3 9.9
A climbing woody plant with sharp thorns, shiny leaves, and berries you cannot eat
  • noun
  • /ˈɡriːnˌbraɪər/
  • US
translation icon : mora espinosa
  • The forest was filled with greenbrier, its prickly stems climbing up the trees.

Examples

  • Woody vines include climbing hydrangea and a type of greenbrier known as bamboo vine.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Laurel greenbrier is a common vine.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Many hikers are familiar with greenbrier because it can entangle itself in the underbrush.

  • During our walk, we spotted greenbrier with its shiny leaves and small green flowers near the trail.

Synonyms

briar
vsgreenbrier
4 8.0

A thorny plant like a wild rose or a woody vine

is a specific climbing prickly plant with round stems and black berries
catbrier
vsgreenbrier
  • Specialized
9.9

A prickly woody vine with round stems, shiny leaves, and black berries in eastern woods

is the common local name used for the same plant
Smilax rotundifolia
vsgreenbrier
  • Specialized
9.9

A very prickly vine with shiny round leaves and clusters of black berries you cannot eat

is a general common name covering that species and similar ones
horse brier
vsgreenbrier
  • US
9.9

A prickly vine with hard round stems and shiny black berries that are not edible

is the broader common name rather than this regional label
bullbrier
vsgreenbrier
  • US
9.9

A very prickly climbing plant with tough stems and shiny black berries not for eating

is the more general name used for plants like this
Smilax
vsgreenbrier
  • Specialized
9.3

A climbing shrub or vine with prickly stems often called greenbrier

is a single common name for particular species, not the whole genus

Surface Forms

greenbrier singular
greenbriers plural

Morphology

greenbrier = green + brier (transparent) = green + brier

The compound denotes a brier that is characterised by green foliage; the meaning follows straightforward compound logic.

Etymology

Greenbrier comes from two simple English parts: green ('the color') and brier (an old word for a 'thorny bush'). So the name gives an easy picture — a green, thorny climbing plant — which is why it is used for the prickly vine with shiny leaves and dark berries.