Etymology

bur

B3U1R1

Today it means: A rough, prickly husk around the seeds or fruit of some plants. Full definition →

Middle English burre ← Old English byrst
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bur · noun1

  1. Old English · derived frombyrst“bristle”
  2. Middle English · inherited fromburre
  3. English todaybur

From Middle English burre, of unknown origin but probably from North Germanic (Scandinavian) source or from Old English byrst (“bristle”). See also burr. Compare English bristle, Danish burre (“bur, burdock”), Norwegian borre, Swedish borre, and Old Norse burst (“bristle”).

Bur · proper noun2

  1. Slovak · borrowed fromBúr
  2. Low German · borrowed fromBur“peasant, farmer”
  3. Alemannic German · borrowed fromBur“peasant, farmer”
  4. French · borrowed fromBur
  5. English todayBur

Three possible origins: * Borrowed from French Bur, probably a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name. * Borrowed from Alemannic German Bur (“peasant, farmer”) and Low German Bur (“peasant, farmer”). * Borrowed from Slovak Búr, a surname of unexplained origin.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishburre all →

burr

Old Englishbyrst all →

Burston

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.