burian

B3U1R1I1A1N1

noun

A tomb; sepulchre.

OriginMiddle English bürȝen ← Old English byrġen ← Proto-West Germanic *burginnju →
UncommonScrabble 8
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Meanings

burian1

nounburian (plural burians)

plural burians · alternative burien · alternative berien

  1. ScotlandNow chiefly dialectalA tomb; sepulchre.
  2. ScotlandNow chiefly dialectalA burial mound.
  3. ScotlandNow chiefly dialectalA camp; hill-fort.

Burian2

proper nounBurian (plural Burians)

plural Burians

  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
burial mound

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰergʰ-“to shelter, protect, save, preserve”
  2. Proto-Germanic*burginjō“burial”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*burginnju
  4. Old Englishbyrġen
  5. Middle Englishbürȝen
  6. Englishburian

From Middle English bürȝen, from Old English byrġen, burġen (“burying-place, grave, sepulchre, tomb, burial”), from Proto-West Germanic *burginnju, from Proto-Germanic *burginjō (“burial”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to shelter, protect, save, preserve”). Related to Old English beorg (modern English barrow) and Old English byrġan (“to raise a mound, hide, bury, inter”). More at bury.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

UrbinaUrbianrubianBaruni
Cite this entry
APA

burian. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burian

MLA

“burian.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burian. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “burian,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/burian.

Source: burian on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.