scouring rush

scouring rush
    n 1: evergreen erect horsetail with rough-edged stems; formerly
         used for scouring utensils [syn: {scouring rush}, {rough
         horsetail}, {Equisetum hyemale}, {Equisetum hyemale
         robustum}, {Equisetum robustum}]
    

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}.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
         [1913 Webster]

   2. The merest trifle; a straw.
      [1913 Webster]

            John Bull's friendship is not worth a rush.
                                                  --Arbuthnot.
      [1913 Webster]

   {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}.
      [1913 Webster]
    

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.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To purge; as, to scour a horse.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
      [1913 Webster]

            [I will] stain my favors in a bloody mask,
            Which, washed away, shall scour my shame with it.
                                                  --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   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.
      [1913 Webster]

            Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. To cleanse or clear, as by a current of water; to flush.

            If my neighbor ought to scour a ditch. --Blackstone.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

   {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.
      [1913 Webster]
    

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.
   [1913 Webster]

   {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.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Dutch was formerly used for German.
         [1913 Webster]

               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.
         [1913 Webster]
    

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}.
   [1913 Webster]

   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}.
         [1913 Webster]