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bur·ro

(bûrō, brō, bŭrō)

n. pl. bur·ros

1. A small donkey, especially one used as a pack animal.

2. Slang A drug smuggler who swallows bags filled with a drug, especially heroin or cocaine, to avoid detection by drug enforcement officers or customs officials.

[Spanish, back-formation from borrico, donkey, from Vulgar Latin *burrīcus, variant of Late Latin būricus, burricus, small horse, of unknown origin.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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