burr

burr · noun, verb¹

1. Middle English · inherited fromburre
2. English todayburr

From Middle English burre, perhaps related to Old English byrst (“bristle”). Cognate with Danish burre, borre (“burdock, burr”), Swedish borre (“sea-urchin”).

burr · noun, verb²

Onomatopoeic, influenced by bur. Compare to French bruire.

burr · noun³

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.

burr · noun⁴

From burl.

Words from the same roots