Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - brush

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English brusch, from an Anglo-French form akin to Old French broce ~wood, Medieval Latin brusca  Date: 14th century  1. ~wood  2.  a. scrub vegetation  b. land covered with scrub vegetation  II. noun  Etymology: Middle English brusshe, from an Anglo-French form akin to Middle French broisse  Date: 14th century  1. a device composed of bristles typically set into a handle and used especially for sweeping, smoothing, scrubbing, or painting  2. something resembling a ~: as  a. a bushy tail  b. a feather tuft worn on a hat  3. an electrical conductor that makes sliding contact between a stationary and a moving part (as of a generator or a motor)  4.  a. an act of ~ing  b. a quick light touch or momentary contact in passing  III. transitive verb  Date: 15th century  1.  a. to apply a ~ to  b. to apply with a ~  2.  a. to remove with passing strokes (as of a ~)  b. to dispose of in an offhand way ; dismiss ~ed him off  3. to pass lightly over or across ; touch gently against in passing  • ~er noun  IV. noun  Etymology: Middle English brusche rush, hostile collision, from bruschen  Date: 14th century a brief encounter or skirmish a ~ with disaster a ~ with the law  V. intransitive verb  Etymology: Middle English bruschen to rush, probably from Middle French brosser to dash through under~, from broce  Date: 1674 to move lightly or heedlessly ~ed past the well-wishers waiting to greet him