brier

¹

or bri·ar

[ brahy-er ]

noun

1. a prickly plant or shrub, especially the sweetbrier or a greenbrier.
2. a tangled mass of prickly plants.
3. a thorny stem or twig.

brier

²

or bri·ar

[ brahy-er ]

noun

1. the white heath, Erica arborea, of France and Corsica, the woody root of which is used for making tobacco pipes.
2. a pipe made of brierroot.

brier

³

or bri·ar

[ brahy-er ]

noun

, Usually Disparaging.

1. (chiefly in Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee) a term used to refer to a rustic, unsophisticated person, especially one from Appalachia.

brier

¹

/ ˈbraɪə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of briar 1

brier

²

/ ˈbraɪə /

noun

1. any of various thorny shrubs or other plants, such as the sweetbrier and greenbrier

Sensitive Note

This term is usually used with disparaging intent to refer to those white people who migrated north and west from Southern Appalachia throughout the first half of the 20th century. These migrants, mostly from eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, were looking for jobs in southeastern Ohio and other places. Brier has negative connotations similar to words such as hillbilly and redneck . But brier has also been used as a term of self-reference by the migrants themselves and their descendants.

Derived Forms

• ˈbriery, adjective

Other Words From

• brier·y adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of brier¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English brer, breir, Old English brǣr, brēr; akin to bramble

Origin of brier²

First recorded in 1865–70; earlier bruyer, from French bruyère, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin brūcāria “field of heather, heath,” from Late Latin brūcus “heath,” from unattested Gaulish broiko- (from Celtic wroiko-, source of Old Irish froech, Welsh grug ) + Latin -āria feminine of Latin noun suffix -arius; -ary, -er ², -ar ²

Origin of brier³

First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of brier breaker, briar breaker, probably a reference to the brier bushes found in Southern Appalachia; brier ²( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of brier¹

Old English brēr , brǣr , of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Even if you don’t know Sabrina Brier, chances are you’ve already met one of the many “friends” she plays on TikTok.

From Los Angeles Times

Best known for her New York-set point-of-view videos, the prolific 29-year-old comedian, actor and writer has amassed more than 800,000 followers in three years on the strength and utter relatability of her “That Friend” videos, which portray Brier playing a variety of characters ranging from well-intentioned and oblivious to downright hateable and entitled.

From Los Angeles Times

Brier’s online fame is so massive, it’s long since spilled over to into her real life.

From Los Angeles Times

Thanks to her self-professed “obsessive” work tendencies, that plan is coming to fruition: Last year, Brier was named to Variety’s New York Power list.

From Los Angeles Times

This past spring, she hosted Sabrina Brier & Friends at Hotel Cafe for Netflix Is A Joke Fest and guest starred on Abbott Elementary as “JessCa,” an overconfident sub who doesn’t believe in capitalizing names of cities and terms her classroom experience as “exceptionally mid.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• foliage
• hedge
• shrubbery
• thicket
• topiary
• tree