Bris"tle (br&ibreve;s"s'l), n. [OE.
bristel, brustel, AS. bristl, byrst; akin to D.
borstel, OHG. burst, G. borste, Icel. burst,
Sw. borst, and to Skr. bh&rsdot;shti edge, point, and prob,
L. fastigium extremity, Gr. 'a`flaston stern of a ship,
and E. brush, burr, perh. to brad. √96.]
1. A short, stiff, coarse hair, as on the back of
swine.
2. (Bot.) A stiff, sharp, roundish
hair. Gray.
Bris"tle, 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.
Now for the bare-picked bone of majesty
Doth dogged war bristle his angry crest.
Shak.
Boy, bristle thy courage up.
Shak.
2. To fix a bristle to; as, to bristle a
thread.
Bris"tle, v. i. 1. To
rise or stand erect, like bristles.
His hair did bristle upon his head.
Sir W. Scott.
2. To appear as if covered with bristles; to have
standing, thick and erect, like bristles.
The hill of La Haye Sainte bristling with ten
thousand bayonets.
Thackeray.
Ports bristling with thousands of masts.
Macaulay.
3. To show defiance or indignation.
To bristle up, to show anger or defiance.
