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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Spike \Spike\, n. [Akin to LG. spiker, spieker, a large nail, D.
spijker, Sw. spik, Dan. spiger, Icel. sp[imac]k; all perhaps
from L. spica a point, an ear of grain; but in the sense of
nail more likely akin to E. spoke of a wheel. Cf. Spine.]
1. A sort of very large nail; also, a piece of pointed iron
set with points upward or outward.
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2. Anything resembling such a nail in shape.
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He wears on his head the corona radiata . . .; the
spikes that shoot out represent the rays of the sun.
--Addison.
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3. An ear of corn or grain.
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4. (Bot.) A kind of flower cluster in which sessile flowers
are arranged on an unbranched elongated axis.
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Spike grass (Bot.), either of two tall perennial American
grasses (Uniola paniculata, and Uniola latifolia)
having broad leaves and large flattened spikelets.
Spike rush. (Bot.) See under Rush.
Spike shell (Zool.), any pteropod of the genus Styliola
having a slender conical shell.
Spike team, three horses, or a horse and a yoke of oxen,
harnessed together, a horse leading the oxen or the span.
[U.S.]
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