# bristle

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɹɪsəl/ · frequency rank #39,226

## Definitions
1. A stiff or coarse hair on a nonhuman mammal or on a plant.
2. A chaeta: an analogous filament on arthropods, annelids, or other animals.
3. The hairs or other filaments that make up a brush, broom, or similar item, typically made from plant cellulose, animal hairs, or synthetic polymers.

## Etymology
From Middle English bristil, bristel, brustel, from Old English bristl, byrst, *brystl, *byrstel, from Proto-West Germanic *burstilu, diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *bursti, from Proto-Germanic *burstiz (compare Dutch borstel, German Borste (“boar's bristle”), Icelandic burst), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥stís (compare Middle Irish brostaid (“to goad, spur”), Latin fastīgium (“top”), Polish barszcz (“hogweed”)).

## Easily confused with
- **bustle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bristle-vs-bustle)
- **Bristol** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bristle-vs-bristol)
- **brittle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bristle-vs-brittle)
- **Bristow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bristle-vs-bristow)
- **bridle** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bridle-vs-bristle)
- **Briscoe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/briscoe-vs-bristle)
- **briskly** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/briskly-vs-bristle)

## Common misspellings (11)
`bbristle`, `birstle`, `brislte`, `brisstle`, `bristel`, `bristlle`, `bristtle`, `britsle`, `brristle`, `brsitle`, `rbistle`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bristle