%brist%

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bristled p. pr. & vb. n. Bristling ] 1. To erect the bristles of; to cause to stand up, as the bristles of an angry hog; -- sometimes with up. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty
Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Boy, bristle thy courage up. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To fix a bristle to; as, to bristle a thread. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To rise or stand erect, like bristles. [ 1913 Webster ]

His hair did bristle upon his head. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To appear as if covered with bristles; to have standing, thick and erect, like bristles. [ 1913 Webster ]

The hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten thousand bayonets. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ports bristling with thousands of masts. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To show defiance or indignation. [ 1913 Webster ]

To bristle up, to show anger or defiance. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. grasses of grasslands and woodlands having large gracefully arching spikes with long bristles beneath each spikelet.
Syn. -- bristle grass. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. resembling a bristle in stiffness.
Syn. -- bristly. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

a. (Bot.) Terminating in a very fine, sharp point, as some leaves. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Resembling a bristle in form; as, a bristle-shaped leaf. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) An insect of the genera Lepisma, Campodea, etc., belonging to the Thysanura. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of having bristles. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Thick set with bristles, or with hairs resembling bristles; rough. [ 1913 Webster ]

The leaves of the black mulberry are somewhat bristly. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A seaport city in the west of England. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bristol board, a kind of fine pasteboard, made with a smooth but usually unglazed surface. --
Bristol brick, a brick of siliceous matter used for polishing cultery; -- originally manufactured at Bristol. --
Bristol stone, rock crystal, or brilliant crystals of quartz, found in the mountain limestone near Bristol, and used in making ornaments, vases, etc. When polished, it is called Bristol diamond. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Russian Hist.) One of those who conspired for constitutional government against the Emperor Nicholas on his accession to the throne at the death of Alexander I., in December, 1825; -- called also Dekabrist.

He recalls the history of the decembrists . . . that gallant band of revolutionists. G. Kennan. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A Decembrist. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. One who balances himself in unnatural positions and hazardous movements; a balancer. [ 1913 Webster ]

When the equilibrist balances a rod upon his finger. Stewart. [ 1913 Webster ]