burr
UK /bɜː/ · US /bɝ/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms burrs burring burred
- noun A sharp, pointy object, such as a sliver or splinter.
- noun A small piece of material left on an edge after a cutting operation. “You left a bunch of burrs on those parts yesterday. You've already been told not to miss the deburring operation.”
- noun A thin flat piece of metal, formed from a sheet by punching; a small washer put on the end of a rivet before it is swaged down.
- noun (historical) A broad iron ring on a tilting lance just below the grip, to prevent the hand from slipping.
- noun (historical) A metal ring at the top of the hand-rest on a spear.
- noun The ear lobe.
- noun A burr knot or burl.
- noun The knot at the bottom of an antler.
- verb (transitive, engineering) To grind using a burr (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces).
- noun A rough humming sound.
- noun A uvular "r" sound, or (by extension) an accent characterized by this sound.
- verb (transitive) To pronounce with a uvular "r".
- verb (intransitive) To make a rough humming sound.
- noun Synonym of brough (“halo around the sun or moon”)
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Florida Township, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Ripley County, Missouri.
- proper noun A village in Otoe County, Nebraska, named after burr oak trees.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Wharton County, Texas.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English burre, perhaps related to Old English byrst (“bristle”). Cognate with Danish burre, borre (“burdock, burr”), Swedish borre (“sea-urchin”).
Onomatopoeic, influenced by bur. Compare to French bruire.
Like brough, an alternative form of burgh (“mound, settlement”) employed in a special sense; thus a doublet of those terms, borough, Brough, burrow, and Bury.
From burl.
Webster’s 1913
- noun Any rough or prickly envelope of the seeds of plants, whether a pericarp, a persistent calyx, or an involucre, as of the chestnut and burdock. Also, any weed which bears burs.
- noun The thin ridge left by a tool in cutting or shaping metal. See Burr, n., 2.
- noun A prickly seed vessel. See Bur, 1.
- noun The thin edge or ridge left by a tool in cutting or shaping metal, as in turning, engraving, pressing, etc.; also, the rough neck left on a bullet in casting.
Etymology [OE. burre burdock; cf. Dan. borre, OSw. borra, burdock, thistle; perh. akin to E. bristle (burr- for burz-), or perh. to F. bourre hair, wool, stuff; also, according to Cotgrave, "the downe, or hairie coat, wherewith divers herbes, fruits, and flowers, are covered," fr. L. burrae trifles, LL. reburrus rough.]
Etymology [See Bur.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “burr”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details