Defn: A coarse kind of thick woolen cloth, worn by the poor in the Middle Ages; also, a woolen cap or hood worn over the shoulders or over the head.
BIRSE
Birse, n.
Defn: A bristle or bristles. [Scot.]
BIRT
Birt, n. Etym: [OE. byrte; cf. F. bertonneau. Cf. Bret, Burt.]
(Zoöl.)
Defn: A fish of the turbot kind; the brill. [Written also burt, bret, or brut.] [Prov. Eng.]
BIRTH Birth, n. Etym: [OE. burth, birth, AS. beor, gebyrd, fr. beran to bear, bring forth; akin to D. geboorate, OHG. burt, giburt, G. geburt, Icel. bur, Skr. bhrti bearing, supporting; cf. Ir. & Gael. beirthe born, brought forth. Bear, and cf. Berth.]
1. The act or fact of coming into life, or of being born; — generally applied to human beings; as, the birth of a son.
2. Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes, high birth; noble
extraction.
Elected without reference to birth, but solely for qualifications.
Prescott.
3. The condition to which a person is born; natural state or position; inherited disposition or tendency. A foe by birth to Troy's unhappy name. Dryden.
4. The act of bringing forth; as, she had two children at a birth. "At her next birth." Milton.