birch

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)Any of various trees of the genus Betula, native to countries in the Northern Hemisphere.
2. (countable, uncountable)A hard wood taken from the birch tree, typically used to make furniture.
3. (countable, uncountable)A stick, rod or bundle of twigs made from birch wood, used for punishment.
4. (countable, uncountable)A birch-bark canoe.

verb

1. (transitive)To punish with a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
2. (transitive)To punish as though one were using a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.

   “That the morrow would see us arraigned 'fore the Head And probably birched with a willow”

   “[…] and was tied to a tree and soundly birched with a bundle of furze”

   “The Mexica were always washing, in water obtained through the aqueduct, or in the lake, and would often go to the popular baths in the numerous stone steam houses (where birching, with grasses, or massage was also available).”

name

1. A surname.
2. A nickname of the surname Birchall.
3. A village and civil parish in Colchester borough, Essex, England (OS grid ref TL9419).
4. A small village in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England (OS grid ref SD8507).
5. A township in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States.
6. An extinct town in Eureka County, Nevada, United States.
7. A town in Lincoln County, Wisconsin, United States.
8. An unincorporated community in the town of Sanborn, Ashland County, Wisconsin.