Etymology

burrow

B3U1R1R1O1W4

Today it means: A tunnel or hole, or a system of tunnels, often as dug by a small creature for use as a home. Full definition →

Middle English borowe ← Old English burh ← Proto-West Germanic *burg
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burrow · noun, verb1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰergʰ-“to protect, defend, save, preserve”
  2. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*bʰerǵʰ-“high”
  3. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*burgz“stronghold, city”
  4. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*burg
  5. Old English · inherited fromburh
  6. Middle English · inherited fromborowe
  7. English todayburrow

From Middle English borowe, borewe, borwȝ, burȝe, burh, burye (“refuge for an animal, lair, burrow”), apparently a variant of Middle English burgh (“fortified dwelling, stronghold, refuge”) (see borough) and thus from Old English burh, from Proto-West Germanic *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold, city”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“high”), but this sense is not known in Old English burh. Compare, however, Dutch cognate burcht, which has a similar sense. It may be related to bury (“to dig”), in which case it would be derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect, defend, save, preserve”).

Burrow · proper noun2

English surname, from the noun borough. Also from the noun burrow and the two senses were often conflated. Compare Burrough, Burgh.

Words from the same roots

Old Englishburh all →

boroughMiddlesbroughburleyburghbroughDewsburybirkAldeburghCanonburyAldboroughBerry Pomeroy-boro-borough-burghburhBurphamBurrough on the HillHemingbroughOnibury

Proto-West Germanic*burg all →

boroughburghburgher

Proto-Germanic*burgz all →

boroughburgessburglarburgburghbrochburgherburgessy

Proto-Indo-European*bʰerǵʰ- all →

forcerugbyburgessbarrowfortifyberghphrygianburgher

Proto-Indo-European*bʰergʰ- all →

bargainborrowburyburianBjorge

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.