any spiny shrub of the genus Ulex, of the legume family, native to the Old World, especially U. europaeus, having rudimentary leaves and yellow flowers and growing in waste places and sandy soil.
before 900;Middle Englishgorst,Old English; akin to GermanGerste,Latinhordeum barley
Related forms
gorsy, adjective
Examples from the web for gorse
Spring visitors find bluebells in bloom while in summer the park is clothed with pink heather and yellow gorse.
He paid it in a hurry, hitting his drive on the first playoff hole into a prickly gorse bush.
In old woods and on fern- and gorse-covered hilltops they do no harm whatever-Spectator.
Expect to find gorse along coastal areas and in forests on well-drained soils.
British Dictionary definitions for gorse
gorse
/ɡɔːs/
noun
1.
any evergreen shrub of the leguminous genus Ulex, esp the European species U. europeaus, which has yellow flowers and thick green spines instead of leaves Also called furze, whin
Derived Forms
gorsy, adjective
Word Origin
Old English gors; related to Old Irish garb rough, Latin horrēre to bristle, Old High German gersta barley, Greek khēr hedgehog
Word Origin and History for gorse
n.
Old English gors "gorse, furze," from Proto-Germanic *gorst- (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German gersta, Middle Dutch gherste, Dutch gerst, German gerste "barley"), from PIE *ghers- "to bristle" (cf. Latin hordeum "barley;" see horror).