Bristles

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Short, stiff projections that can be found on various surfaces or animals and that serve functional purposes in texture or protection
2. Coarse, stiff hairs or fibers used in certain tools or naturally occurring as a defense mechanism in various species
3. Small, rigid hairs found on animals or plants that often provide protection or sensory input ; rigid fibers arranged densely on brushes or cleaning tools for scrubbing or painting ; to show quick irritation or anger in response to something unpleasant

Etymology: "Bristles" is the plural of "bristle," and the singular has an unusually physical history: it comes from a word for the top of something. Its ancestor in Germanic was a diminutive of "bursti," a word for the stiff hair on a boar's back, which points to the animal as the original source of the image. The Old English forms "bristl" and "byrst" carried that sense of stiff hair into the language, and Middle English later softened the consonants into the form we use now. The same ancient root turns up in surprising places. Latin "fastigium," meaning the top or peak of a roof or gable, and Middle Irish "brostaid," meaning to goad or spur, are both thought to be relatives, though the connections between them are not as firmly established as the Germanic line. The bristling of a hedgehog or a startled cat, the stiffness of a brush, and the pricking anger of a person who has been provoked all grow from that same stiff, upright idea.

Synonyms: spines, quills