Rush \Rush\, n. [OE. rusche, rische, resche, AS. risce, akin to
LG. rusk, risch, D. & G. rusch; all probably fr. L. ruscum
butcher's broom; akin to Goth. raus reed, G. rohr.]
1. (Bot.) A name given to many aquatic or marsh-growing
endogenous plants with soft, slender stems, as the species
of Juncus and Scirpus.
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Note: Some species are used in bottoming chairs and plaiting
mats, and the pith is used in some places for wicks to
lamps and rushlights.
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2. The merest trifle; a straw.
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John Bull's friendship is not worth a rush.
--Arbuthnot.
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Bog rush. See under Bog.
Club rush, any rush of the genus Scirpus.
Flowering rush. See under Flowering.
Nut rush
(a) Any plant of the genus Scleria, rushlike plants with
hard nutlike fruits.
(b) A name for several species of Cyperus having
tuberous roots.
Rush broom, an Australian leguminous plant (Viminaria
denudata), having long, slender branches. Also, the
Spanish broom. See under Spanish.
Rush candle, See under Candle.
Rush grass, any grass of the genus Vilfa, grasses with
wiry stems and one-flowered spikelets.
Rush toad (Zool.), the natterjack.
Scouring rush. (Bot.) Same as Dutch rush, under Dutch.
Spike rush, any rushlike plant of the genus Eleocharis,
in which the flowers grow in dense spikes.
Sweet rush, a sweet-scented grass of Arabia, etc.
(Andropogon schoenanthus), used in Oriental medical
practice.
Wood rush, any plant of the genus Luzula, which differs
in some technical characters from Juncus.
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Scour \Scour\ (skour), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scoured; p. pr. &
vb. n. Scouring.] [Akin to LG. sch["u]ren, D. schuren,
schueren, G. scheuern, Dan. skure; Sw. skura; all possibly
fr. LL. escurare, fr. L. ex + curare to take care. Cf.
Cure.]
1. To rub hard with something rough, as sand or Bristol
brick, especially for the purpose of cleaning; to clean by
friction; to make clean or bright; to cleanse from grease,
dirt, etc., as articles of dress.
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2. To purge; as, to scour a horse.
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3. To remove by rubbing or cleansing; to sweep along or off;
to carry away or remove, as by a current of water; --
often with off or away.
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[I will] stain my favors in a bloody mask,
Which, washed away, shall scour my shame with it.
--Shak.
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4. [Perhaps a different word; cf. OF. escorre, escourre, It.
scorrere, both fr. L. excurrere to run forth. Cf.
Excursion.] To pass swiftly over; to brush along; to
traverse or search thoroughly; as, to scour the coast.
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Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. --Pope.
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5. To cleanse or clear, as by a current of water; to flush.
If my neighbor ought to scour a ditch. --Blackstone.
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Scouring barrel, a tumbling barrel. See under Tumbling.
Scouring cinder (Metal.), a basic slag, which attacks the
lining of a shaft furnace. --Raymond.
Scouring rush. (Bot.) See Dutch rush, under Dutch.
Scouring stock (Woolen Manuf.), a kind of fulling mill.
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Dutch \Dutch\, a. [D. duitsch German; or G. deutsch, orig.,
popular, national, OD. dietsc, MHG. diutsch, tiutsch, OHG.
diutisk, fr. diot, diota, a people, a nation; akin to AS.
pe['o]d, OS. thiod, thioda, Goth. piuda; cf. Lith. tauta
land, OIr. tuath people, Oscan touto. The English have
applied the name especially to the Germanic people living
nearest them, the Hollanders. Cf. Derrick, Teutonic.]
Pertaining to Holland, or to its inhabitants.
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Dutch auction. See under Auction.
Dutch cheese, a small, pound, hard cheese, made from skim
milk.
Dutch clinker, a kind of brick made in Holland. It is
yellowish, very hard, and long and narrow in shape.
Dutch clover (Bot.), common white clover (Trifolium
repens), the seed of which was largely imported into
England from Holland.
Dutch concert, a so-called concert in which all the singers
sing at the same time different songs. [Slang]
Dutch courage, the courage of partial intoxication. [Slang]
--Marryat.
Dutch door, a door divided into two parts, horizontally, so
arranged that the lower part can be shut and fastened,
while the upper part remains open.
Dutch foil, Dutch leaf, or Dutch gold, a kind of brass
rich in copper, rolled or beaten into thin sheets, used in
Holland to ornament toys and paper; -- called also Dutch
mineral, Dutch metal, brass foil, and bronze leaf.
Dutch liquid (Chem.), a thin, colorless, volatile liquid,
C2H4Cl2, of a sweetish taste and a pleasant ethereal
odor, produced by the union of chlorine and ethylene or
olefiant gas; -- called also Dutch oil. It is so called
because discovered (in 1795) by an association of four
Hollandish chemists. See Ethylene, and Olefiant.
Dutch oven, a tin screen for baking before an open fire or
kitchen range; also, in the United States, a shallow iron
kettle for baking, with a cover to hold burning coals.
Dutch pink, chalk, or whiting dyed yellow, and used in
distemper, and for paper staining. etc. --Weale.
Dutch rush (Bot.), a species of horsetail rush or
Equisetum (Equisetum hyemale) having a rough,
siliceous surface, and used for scouring and polishing; --
called also scouring rush, and shave grass. See
Equisetum.
Dutch tile, a glazed and painted ornamental tile, formerly
much exported, and used in the jambs of chimneys and the
like.
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Note: Dutch was formerly used for German.
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Germany is slandered to have sent none to this
war [the Crusades] at this first voyage; and that
other pilgrims, passing through that country,
were mocked by the Dutch, and called fools for
their pains. --Fuller.
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Equisetum \Eq`ui*se"tum\, n.; pl. Equiseta. [L., the
horsetail, fr. equus horse + seta a thick,, stiff hair,
bristle.] (Bot.)
A genus of vascular, cryptogamic, herbaceous plants; -- also
called horsetails.
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Note: The Equiseta have hollow jointed stems and no true
leaves. The cuticle often contains siliceous granules,
so that one species (E. hyemale) is used for scouring
and polishing, under the name of Dutch rush or
scouring rush.
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