Meanings
plural burels
- countableuncountableA coarse woolen cloth.
Burels at this time seem to have been made in lengths of 20 ells and sold at 8d. the ell, while the better quality cloths - browns, plunkets, blues, and greens - were nearly twice the length, and cost about 22d. the ell.
1964, L. F. Salzman, English Industries of the Middle Ages, page 199
Origin
- Late Latinburra“wool, fluff, shaggy cloth, coarse fabric”
- Old Frenchburel
- Middle Englishburel
- Englishburel
From Middle English burel, burrel, borel, from Old French burel, diminutive of *bure (compare Middle French bure (“coarse woolen cloth”), French bourre (“hair, fluff”)), from Late Latin burra (“wool, fluff, shaggy cloth, coarse fabric”). Doublet of bureau, which was taken from later (early modern) French.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Late Latin
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Cite this entry
burel. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burel
“burel.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burel. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “burel,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burel.
Source: burel on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.