Birch Is Both a Tree and a Punishment
A birch is a tree with distinctive white bark. Bundles of its twigs were used for judicial beating, which is why to birch means to flog.
A birch is a slender tree with papery bark, often white. The tree gave English a verb through punishment: bundles of birch twigs were the standard instrument of judicial and school beating in Britain for centuries, and *to birch* meant to flog. Birching was abolished as a judicial penalty in Britain in 1948, and on the Isle of Man only in 1976. The bark is waterproof enough to have been used for canoes and for writing.
- The tree. *A stand of silver birch.*
- The wood. *Birch plywood.*
- A rod of twigs. *The birch was used in schools.*
- To birch — to flog. *He was birched.*
- Birch bark — used for canoes and writing. *A birch bark canoe.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | birch | A silver birch. |
| Plural | birches | Young birches. |
| Verb | birch | To birch an offender. |
| Adjective | birchen | A birchen rod. |
| Old English | berc | The tree. |
- Silver birch grows quickly on poor soil.Botany.
- Birching was abolished in Britain in 1948.Legal history.
- Birch bark was used to make canoes.Material.
Uses of birch bark
- Canoes — light, waterproof and repairable, across northern North America
- Writing — birch bark letters survive in large numbers from medieval Novgorod
- Roofing and containers — across northern Europe and Asia
- Fire lighting — the oily bark catches even when damp
- Tar — birch bark tar is among the oldest known adhesives
Old English *berc*, from a Proto-Germanic root, probably connected with a word meaning bright or white, from the bark.
Why does birch mean to flog?
Because bundles of birch twigs were the standard instrument for judicial and school beatings in Britain.
When was birching abolished?
As a judicial punishment in Britain in 1948, and on the Isle of Man in 1976.