bri·er¹ / ˈbrī(ə)r/ (also bri·ar) • n. any of a number of prickly scrambling shrubs, esp. the sweetbrier and other wild roses.DERIVATIVES: bri·er·y adj.bri·er² (also briar) • n. 1. (also brier pipe) a tobacco pipe made from woody nodules borne at ground level by a large woody plant of the heath family. 2. the white-flowered woody shrub (Erica arborea) that bears these nodules, native chiefly to France and Corsica.

brier2, briar2 white heath, Erica arborea, the root of which is used for tobacco pipes. XIX (bruyer). — (O)F. bruyère heath :- Gallo-Rom. *brūcāria, f. *brūcus — Gaulish *brūko; assim. in form to prec.

brier1, briar1 prickly bush OE.; species of wild rose XVI. OE. (Angl.) brēr, (WS.) brǣr, of unkn. orig.