Brambles
/ˈbræm.bəlz/noun
Dense, prickly shrubs, especially wild blackberry bushes.
Did you know?The word ultimately comes from a very old Germanic plant-name, and its thorny meaning stayed so close to the original that English kept the wild, scratchy feel all the way into modern use.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*brēmilaz
“a thorny shrub or bramble”
Old English
OE
bræmbel
“a bramble, thorny bush”
Middle English
ME
bramble
“a prickly shrub, especially blackberry bush”
Modern English
English
bramble
“a thorny wild shrub, especially one of the blackberry genus”
Modern English
English
brambles
“plural of bramble; dense tangled thorny growth”