Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Bristle?

\Bris"tle\ (br[i^]s"s'l), n. [OE. bristel, brustel, AS. bristl, byrst; akin to D. borstel, OHG. burst, G. borste, Icel. burst, Sw. borst, and to Skr. bh[.r]shti edge, point, and prob, L. fastigium extremity, Gr. 'a`flaston stern of a ship, and E. brush, burr, perh. to brad. [root]96.] 1. A short, stiff, coarse hair, as on the back of swine. 2. (Bot.) A stiff, sharp, roundish hair. --Gray.
\Bris"tle\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Bristled}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Bristling}.] 1. To erect the bristles of; to cause to stand up, as the bristles of an angry hog; -- 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. 2. To fix a bristle to; as, to bristle a thread.
\Bris"tle\, v. i. 1. To rise or stand erect, like bristles. His hair did bristle upon his head. --Sir W. Scott. 2. To appear as if covered with bristles; to have standing, thick and erect, like bristles. The hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten thousand bayonets. --Thackeray. Ports bristling with thousands of masts. --Macaulay. 3. To show defiance or indignation. {To bristle up}, to show anger or defiance.