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burr 1 (bûr)
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n.
1. A rough edge or area remaining on material, such as metal, after it has been cast, cut, or drilled.
2. Variant of bur1.
tr.v. burred, burr·ing, burrs
1. To form a burr on.
2. To remove burrs from.
[Variant of BUR1.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
burr 2 also bur (bûr)
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n.
1. A trilling of the letter r, usually made with the tip of the tongue and characteristic of Scottish speech.
2. A buzzing or whirring sound.
v. burred, burr·ing, burrs also burs
v.tr.
To pronounce with a burr.
v.intr.
1. To speak with a burr.
2. To make a buzzing or whirring sound.
[Imitative.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 
bur 2 (bûr)
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n. & v.
Variant of burr2.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 

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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