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noun
1.
a rough, prickly case around the seeds of certain plants, as the chestnut or burdock.
2.
any bur-bearing plant.
3.
something that adheres like a bur.
4.
Machinery. burr1 (defs. 1, 3).
5.
EXPANDDentistry. a rotary cutting tool usually of steel or other hard metal shaped into a shank and a head, for removing carious material from teeth and preparing cavities for filling.
6.
COLLAPSESurgery. a cutting tool resembling that of a dentist, used for the excavation of bone.
verb (used with object)
7.
to extract or remove burs from.
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Burring
is always a great word to know.
So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:
| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| a fool or simpleton; ninny. |
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English burre, apparently cognate with Danish burre, Norwegian, Swedish borre bur
1300–50; Middle English burre, apparently cognate with Danish burre, Norwegian, Swedish borre bur
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
Also, buhr. a protruding, ragged edge raised on the surface of metal during drilling, shearing, punching, or engraving.
2.
a rough or irregular protuberance on any object, as on a tree.
3.
a small, hand-held, power-driven milling cutter, used by machinists and die makers for deepening, widening, or undercutting small recesses.
4.
a lump of brick fused or warped in firing.
noun
1.
a pronunciation of the r-sound as a uvular trill, as in certain Northern English dialects.
2.
a pronunciation of the r-sound as an alveolar flap or trill, as in Scottish English.
3.
any pronunciation popularly considered rough or nonurban.
4.
a whirring noise.
verb (used without object)
5.
to speak with a burr.
6.
to speak roughly, indistinctly, or inarticulately.
7.
to make a whirring sound.
verb (used with object)
8.
to pronounce (words, sounds, etc.) with a burr.
Origin:
1750–60; apparently both imitative and associative, the sound being thought of as rough like a bur
1750–60; apparently both imitative and associative, the sound being thought of as rough like a bur
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To burring
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
bur
"prickly seed vessel of some plants," c.1300, burre, from a Scandinavian source (cf. Dan. borre, Swed. hard-borre, O.N. burst "bristle"), from PIE *bhars- (see bristle). Transferred 1610s to "rough edge on metal," which may have been the source of the sense "rough sound
EXPANDof the letter -r-" (see burr).
burr
"rough sound of the letter -r-" (especially that common in Northumberland), 1760, later extended to "northern accented speech" in general. Possibly the sound of the word is imitative of the speech peculiarity itself, or it was adapted from one of the senses of bur (q.v.), perhaps
from the phrase to have a bur in (one's) throat (late 14c.), which was a figure of speech for "feel a choking sensation, huskiness." The Scottish -r- is a lingual trill, not a true burr.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
bur or burr (bûr)
n.
A rotary cutting instrument used in dentistry for excavating decay, shaping cavity forms, and reducing tooth structure.
A drilling tool for enlarging a trephine hole in the cranium.
burr (bûr)
n.
Variant of bur.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Science Dictionary
bur also burr  (bûr) Pronunciation Key
A type of pseudocarp in which the outer surface possesses hooks or barbs. Burs become caught in the feathers or hair of animals, which then carry them away to disperse the seeds. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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