birch

See also: Birch

English

Birch trees Betula pendula (1)

Etymology

PIE word
*bʰerHǵós

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

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: bû(r)ch, IPA^(key): /bɜːtʃ/
• (US) enPR: bû(r)ch, IPA^(key): /bɝt͡ʃ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)tʃ

Noun

birch (countable and uncountable, plural birches)

1. Any of various trees of the genus Betula, native to countries in the Northern Hemisphere.
2. A hard wood taken from the birch tree, typically used to make furniture.
3. A stick, rod or bundle of twigs made from birch wood, used for punishment.

   Synonyms: makepeace, switch

4. A birch-bark canoe.

Derived terms

• American white birch
• birchbark
• birch beer
• birch bolete
• birch bracket
• birchen
• birchlike
• birch mouse
• birch of Jamaica
• birch partridge
• birch sap
• birch tar
• birch tree
• Birch Vale
• birch wine
• birch wood
• birchwood
• birchy
• black birch
• black birch tree
• canoe birch
• cherry birch
• downy birch
• dwarf birch
• flame birch
• Japanese cherry birch
• Much Birch
• northern birch mouse
• oil of birch
• paper birch
• red birch
• river birch
• silver birch
• sweet birch
• water birch
• weeping birch
• white birch
• yellow birch

 

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)
• 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)
• 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)
• Lithuanian: beržas (lt) m
• Low German:

  German Low German: Bark

• Macedonian: бреза 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)
• Ojibwe: wiigwaas
• Okanagan: qʷəqʷłín'
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: брѣза f (brěza)

• 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)
• Venetian: 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)

wood

• Azerbaijani: tozağacı
• Catalan: bedoll (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 樺木／桦木 (zh) (huàmù)

• Danish: birk
• Dutch: berk (nl)
• Finnish: koivu (fi), koivupuu
• Hungarian: nyírfa (hu)
• Icelandic: birki (is) n
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bjerk (no) m or f, bjørk (no) m or f

  Nynorsk: bjørk (nn) f

• Portuguese: bétula (pt) f
• Russian: берёза (ru) f (berjóza)
• Spanish: abedul (es) m
• Swahili: ubao wa mbetula
• Swedish: björk (sv)
• Tagalog: abedul
• Turkish: huş (tr)

punishment device

• Esperanto: vergo (eo)
• Finnish: vitsa (fi), koivuvitsa; Koivuniemen herra (fi)
• French: badine (fr) f, baguette (fr) f, verge (fr) f
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ris (no) n, stokk (no) m

• Polish: rózga (pl) f
• Russian: ро́зга (ru) f (rózga), прут (ru) m (prut)
• Turkish: huş sopası, huş kırbacı
• Ukrainian: рі́зка (rízka), лози́на (uk) f (lozýna), лоза́ (uk) f (lozá) (colloquial)

birch-bark canoe

• Finnish: tuohikanootti
• Turkish: huş kayığı, huş kanosu

Verb

birch (third-person singular simple present birches, present participle birching, simple past and past participle birched)

1. To punish with a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
2. 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

• bircher

Translations

to punish with a birch

• Esperanto: vergi
• Finnish: piiskata (fi)
• French: verger (fr)
• Latvian: pērt, sukāt (lv)
• Russian: сечь розгами (sečʹ rozgami)
• Ukrainian: шмага́ти impf (šmaháty), відшмага́ти pf (vidšmaháty), ви́шмагати pf (výšmahaty), пошмага́ти pf (pošmaháty), нашмага́ти pf (našmaháty)

to punish as if one were using a birch

• Esperanto: vergado
• Finnish: piiskata (fi)
• Latvian: pērt, sukāt (lv)

References

• “birch”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “birch”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Middle English

Noun

birch

1. Alternative form of birche