Emily Dickinson Lexicon

bruise (-s), n. [OE brýsan 'to crush.'] (webplay: heavy).

1. Contusion; wound; injury from beating; trauma from striking; black-and-blue mark from a blunt instrument; (see Isaiah 1:6).
2. Pain; hurt; anguish; agony; suffering; [fig.] incurable disease; terminal illness; (see Jeremiah 30:12).