Dictionary

burd en · NOUN

Etymology

From Middle English berde (“woman, lady, young lady”), possibly from Old English byrde, ġebyrde (“of noble birth”), from byrd, ġebyrd (“birth”), or from an unattested *byrde (“embroideress”). Possibly the origin of the English slang bird for a young woman.

Meanings

1. (dialectal, obsolete) maiden, young woman
   • The hall was furnished in a manner equally grand, and at one end of it was a glorious couch of velvet, silk and gold, and there sate Burd Ellen, combing her golden hair with a silver comb. 1890, Joseph Jacobs, “Childe Rowland”, in English Fairy Tales, page 122:

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