Bulrush

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Bulrush \Bul"rush`\ (b[.u]l"r[u^]sh`), n. [OE. bulrysche,
     bolroysche; of uncertain origin, perh. fr. bole stem + rush.]
     (Bot.)
     A kind of large rush, growing in wet land or in water.
     [1913 Webster]
  


     Note: The name bulrush is applied in England especially to
           the cat-tail ({Typha latifolia} and {Typha
           angustifolia}) and to the lake club-rush ({Scirpus
           lacustris}); in America, to the {Juncus effusus}, and
           also to species of {Scirpus} or club-rush.
           [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  cattail \cat"tail\, Cat-tail \Cat"-tail\(k[a^]t"t[=a]l), n.
     (Bot.)
     A tall erect rush or flag ({Typha latifolia}) growing widely
     in fresh and salt marshes, with long, flat, sword-shaped
     leaves, having clusters of small brown flowers in a dense
     cylindrical spike at the top of the stem; -- called also
     {bulrush} and {reed mace}. The leaves are frequently used for
     seating chairs, making mats, etc. See {Catkin}.
     [1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
  
     Note: The {lesser cat-tail} is {Typha angustifolia}.
           [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  bulrush
       n 1: tall marsh plant with cylindrical seed heads that explode
            when mature shedding large quantities of down; its long
            flat leaves are used for making mats and chair seats; of
            North America, Europe, Asia and North Africa [syn: {cat's-tail},
             {bullrush}, {nailrod}, {reed mace}, {reedmace}, {Typha
            latifolia}]
       2: tall rush with soft erect or arching stems found in Eurasia,
          Australia, New Zealand, and common in North America [syn:
          {bullrush}, {common rush}, {soft rush}, {Juncus effusus}]

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Bulrush
     (1.) In Isa. 58:5 the rendering of a word which denotes
     "belonging to a marsh," from the nature of the soil in which it
     grows (Isa. 18:2). It was sometimes platted into ropes (Job.
     41:2; A.V., "hook," R.V., "rope," lit. "cord of rushes").
     
       (2.) In Ex. 2:3, Isa. 18:2 (R.V., "papyrus") this word is the
     translation of the Hebrew _gome_, which designates the plant as
     absorbing moisture. In Isa. 35:7 and Job 8:11 it is rendered
     "rush." This was the Egyptian papyrus (papyrus Nilotica). It was
     anciently very abundant in Egypt. The Egyptians made garments
     and shoes and various utensils of it. It was used for the
     construction of the ark of Moses (Ex. 2:3, 5). The root portions
     of the stem were used for food. The inside bark was cut into
     strips, which were sewed together and dried in the sun, forming
     the papyrus used for writing. It is no longer found in Egypt,
     but grows luxuriantly in Palestine, in the marshes of the Huleh,
     and in the swamps at the north end of the Lake of Gennesaret.
     (See {CANE}.)