Definition of "briar"

briar¹

/bɹaɪə/

noun
plural briars
1. Any of many plants with thorny stems growing in dense clusters, such as many in the Rosa, Rubus, and Smilax genera.
  Quotations
  Youngthes folke now flocken in every where, To gather May-buskets and smelling brere
  1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “May. Aegloga Quinta.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […]; reprinted as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer, editor, The Shepheardes Calender […], London: John C. Nimmo, […], 1890,
2. (figurative) Anything sharp or unpleasant to the feelings.
  Quotations
  ¶ And thou ſonne of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their wordes, though bryars and thornes be with thee, and thou doeſt dwell among ſcorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be diſmayed at their lookes, though they be a rebellious houſe.
  1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], Ezekiel 2:6
  Rov'd far, and gather'd much : some harsh, 't is true, / Pick'd from the thorns and briers of reproof, / But wholesome, well-digested ; […]
  1785, William Cowper, The Task‎

briar²

/bɹaɪə/

noun
plural briars
1. The white heath (Erica arborea), a thorny Mediterranean shrub.
2. A pipe for smoking, made from the roots of that shrub.