hulver Obs. exc. dial.
(ˈhʌlvə(r))
Also 5 holvyr, hulfere, -wur, -uyr, 6 -war.
[In late ME. hulfere, app. the same as ON. hulfr, which is explained by Vigf. as ‘dogwood’. The ulterior history of the word, and the question of its relation to holly or holm, are undetermined.]
Holly. knee hulver, Butcher's Broom, Ruscus aculeatus. sea hulver, Sea Holly, Eryngo.
| c 1430 Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. 129 Betwix an hulfere and a wodebinde. 14.. Songs & Carols (Percy Soc.) xl, Holvyr and Heyvy mad a gret party, Ho xuld have the maystri. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 253/1 Hulwur, tre (K., P. huluyr), hulmus. 1578 Lyte Dodoens iv. lviii. 519 Sea Holme, or Huluer, and Sea Holly. Ibid. vi. xxxiv. 701 In Englishe it is called Holme, Holly, and Huluer. 1819 H. Busk Vestriad iv. 719 The skirt of hulver and the screen of spruce. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Hulver, holly. 1859 All Year Round No. 36. 225/1 The holly..in Norfolk..called hulver. |
b. attrib. and Comb., as hulver bush, hulver tree; hulver-head, -headed a. (see quots.); hulver oak, the holm-oak.
| 1538 Turner Libellus, Ruscus,..an Huluar tre. 1597 Gerarde Herbal iii. xxx. 1159 The..Ilex..might be called Holme Oke, Huluer Oke, or Holly Oke. 1601 Holland Pliny xxiv. xiii. (R.), Touching the Holly, or Hulver-tree. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Hulver-head, a silly foolish Fellow. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. T., Hulver-headed, silly, puzzle-pated. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Hulver-headed, stupid; muddled; confused; as if the head were enveloped in a hulver bush. |