bur
Noun · VerbOpen English WordNet
Noun (2)
- seed vessel having hooks or pricklesSynonyms: burrType of pericarp, seed vesselKinds Spanish needles, beggar-ticks
- small bit used in dentistry or surgerySynonyms: burrType of bitPart of dentist's drill, burr drill
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: OE. burre burdock; cf. Dan. borre, OSw. borra, burdock, thistle; perh. akin to E. bristle (burr- for burz-), or perh. to F. bourre hair, wool, stuff; also, according to Cotgrave, “the downe, or hairie coat, wherewith divers herbes, fruits, and flowers, are covered,” fr. L. burrae trifles, LL. reburrus rough.
1. Botany Any rough or prickly envelope of the seeds of plants, whether a pericarp, a persistent calyx, or an involucre, as of the chestnut and burdock; a seed vessel having hooks or prickles. Also, any weed which bears burs.
Amongst rude burs and thistles.— John Milton
Bur and brake and brier.— Alfred Tennyson
2. The thin ridge left by a tool in cutting or shaping metal. See Burr, noun, 2.
3. A ring of iron on a lance or spear. See Burr, noun, 4.
4. The lobe of the ear. See Burr, noun, 5.
5. The sweetbread.
6. A clinker; a partially vitrified brick.
7. Mechanics (a) A small circular saw. (b) A triangular chisel. (c) A drill with a serrated head larger than the shank; — especially a small drill bit used by dentists.
8. Zoology The round knob of an antler next to a deer's head. [Commonly written burr.]
Bur oak Botany, a useful and ornamental species of oak (Quercus macrocarpa) with ovoid acorns inclosed in deep cups imbricated with pointed scales. It grows in the Middle and Western United States, and its wood is tough, close-grained, and durable. — Bur reed Botany, a plant of the genus Sparganium, having long ribbonlike leaves.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54