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.

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.

2. The merest trifle; a straw.

John Bull's friendship is not worth a rush. --Arbuthnot.

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 (Zo["o]l.), 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 sch[oe]nanthus), used in Oriental medical practice.

Wood rush, any plant of the genus Luzula, which differs in some technical characters from Juncus.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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.

2. To purge; as, to scour a horse.

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.

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

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.

Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain. --Pope.

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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 (E. 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.

Note: Dutch was formerly used for German.

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

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.

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.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)