burr en · NOUN · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- /bøː/ (New-Zealand)
- /bɛː/ Humberside, Teesside, fair–fur merger
- /bɝ/ (US)
- /beː/ Liverpool, fair–fur merger
- /bɜː/ (Australia, Received-Pronunciation)
- /bʌr/ (Scotland)
- (Southern-England) audio
- (US) audio
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From Middle English burre, perhaps related to Old English byrst (“bristle”). Cognate with Danish burre, borre (“burdock, burr”), Swedish borre (“sea-urchin”).
Meanings
- A sharp, pointy object, such as a sliver or splinter.
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(alt-of, alternative) Alternative form of bur (“rough, prickly husk around the seeds or fruit of some plants”).
alt of bur
But cockle, spurge, according to their law / Might propagate their kind, with none to awe, / You'd think; a burr had been a treasure trove.
1855, Robert Browning, Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came, section X:[…] nay Friar, I am a kind of Burre, I ſhal ſticke.
c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 78:
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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.
But the graver, in ploughing furrows in the surface of the copper, raises corresponding ridges or burrs
1852, Charles Tomlinson, “Engraving”, in Cyclopædia of Useful Arts & Manufactures, page 607:
- 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.
- (historical) A broad iron ring on a tilting lance just below the grip, to prevent the hand from slipping.
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(historical) A metal ring at the top of the hand-rest on a spear.
We are made to witness a cathartic shuffling-off of mortalities and of hatreds: Mordred's pulling himself up to the 'burr' of Arthur's spear is Malory's own detail and one of the most memorable in the book.
2003, Thomas Howard Crofts, Fifteenth-century Malory, page 290:And there kyng Arthur smote syr mordred vnder the shelde wyth a foyne of his spere thorughoute the body more than a fadom / And whan syr Mordred felte that he had hys dethes wounde / He thryst hym self wyth the myght that he had vp to the bur of kynge Arthurs spere / And right so he smote his fader Arthur wyth his swerde holden in bothe his handes
1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter IV, in Le Morte Darthur, book XXI:Many saddles, especially those for use on warhorses, had high burr plates and cantles. this was especially important when knights began using stirrups and the couched lance.
2015, James B. Tschen-Emmons, Artifacts from Medieval Europe, page 280:The front of it was defended by an iron-plate, called a vam-plat, that is, an avant-plate, and behind it was a broad iron ring, called a burr.
1819, Abraham Rees, The Cyclopaedia:And when his body was against the burr of the spear, he took his sword in both his hands and he swung the sword above his head, and he smote King Arthur with the edge of the sword upon the helmet.
2012, Howard Pyle, The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur:burr or ring of iron behind the hand
1724, John Guillim, A Display of Heraldry:
- The ear lobe.
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A burr knot or burl.
We notice wild bees gathering sap in a burr of the third mango tree[.]
2022, Carol Maxwell, Northern Territory Literary Awards, page 58:
- The knot at the bottom of an antler.
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A revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces used to grind hard products in a grinder or mill.
The coffee guys insist that the single most important investment you can make if you brew coffee at home is a burr coffee grinder that crushes whole coffee beans by moving them through a grinding wheel. The burr chops the coffee into uniformly sized pieces, which enables the water to run through it and extract evenly.
2011, Michaele Weissman, God in a Cup: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Coffee, HMH, →ISBN:burr grinder
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| burrs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Coordinates
millstone · grindstone · sharp
Deriveds
burr rose · burrlike · burr hole · deburr · burr cell · burrish · buffalo burr · burr under one's saddle · burrweed · burr gherkin · burr in one's saddle · burr millstone · burr puzzle · Burr Oak · burrless · burr grinder · burr cucumber · burr thistle · burr mill · clotbur · buffalo-burr · burr oak · burrhead · burrfish
Synonyms
Translations (68)
kpv репей (seed pod with sharp features) · mi kaiārurerure (seed pod with sharp features) · mi kaiā (seed pod with sharp features) · fi säle (sliver or splinter) · ru репе́й (seed pod with sharp features) · it macina (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces) · nl splinter (sliver or splinter) · es muela (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces) · uk колю́чка (seed pod with sharp features) · mhr коршаҥге (seed pod with sharp features) · mrj каржангы (seed pod with sharp features) · cs ostnatý plod (seed pod with sharp features) · mi kaikaiārure (seed pod with sharp features) · mi pirikahu (seed pod with sharp features) · it scheggia (sliver or splinter) · ru колю́чка (seed pod with sharp features) · cs otřep (material left on an edge after cutting) · eo splitaĵo (sliver or splinter) · ru грат (material left on an edge after cutting) · fr écharde (sliver or splinter) · gl ourizo (seed pod with sharp features) · be калю́чка (seed pod with sharp features) · es esquirla (sliver or splinter) · it bava (material left on an edge after cutting) · et takjas (seed pod with sharp features) · et käi (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces) · de Mahlstein (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces) · uk реп'я́х (seed pod with sharp features) · es filván (material left on an edge after cutting) · pl zadzior (seed pod with sharp features) · bg ле́пка (seed pod with sharp features) · mi hutiwai (seed pod with sharp features) · tr çapak (material left on an edge after cutting) · mi piripiri (seed pod with sharp features) · de Klette (seed pod with sharp features) · cs kulička z lopuchu (seed pod with sharp features) · es cadillo (seed pod with sharp features) · es limadura (sliver or splinter) · ru зади́р (material left on an edge after cutting) · sv kardborre (seed pod with sharp features) · sv grad (material left on an edge after cutting) · pt carrapicho (seed pod with sharp features) · de Grat (material left on an edge after cutting) · udm люгы (seed pod with sharp features) · es astilla (sliver or splinter) · it riccio (seed pod with sharp features) · nl braam (material left on an edge after cutting) · ka ეკალი (seed pod with sharp features) · ru заусе́нец (material left on an edge after cutting) · fr bardane (seed pod with sharp features) · pt ouriço (seed pod with sharp features) · fi takiaispallo (seed pod with sharp features) · de Mahlwerk (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces) · mi piriwhetau (seed pod with sharp features) · it sbavatura (material left on an edge after cutting) · fi sälö (sliver or splinter) · fi takiainen (seed pod with sharp features) · es rebaba (material left on an edge after cutting) · fr barbe (material left on an edge after cutting) · de Mahlscheibe (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces) · ja バリ (material left on an edge after cutting) · et pind (sliver or splinter) · pt rebarba (material left on an edge after cutting) · hu bogáncs (seed pod with sharp features) · be дзед (seed pod with sharp features) · gl rebarba (material left on an edge after cutting) · de Splitter (sliver or splinter) · cs (zubařská) vrtačka (revolving disk or cone with abrasive surfaces)