different between birr vs burr

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English bir (“favorable or strong wind”), from Old English byre (“strong wind, storm”); cognate with Norwegian bør, Icelandic byrr (“sailing winds”), Albanian borë (“snow”), Latin borea (“North wind”) and Polish burza (“storm, thunderstorm”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /b??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /b?/, enPR: bûr
• Rhymes: -??(r)

Noun

birr (plural birrs)

1. (Scotland) strength, vigor, energy
2. (Scotland) The force of movement; rush, impetus, momentum, driving force
3. (Scotland) A whirring noise
4. (Scotland) A strong trilling.

Verb

birr (third-person singular simple present birrs, present participle birring, simple past and past participle birred)

1. (Scotland) To make a whirring noise; make a noise like that of revolving wheels, or of millstones at work.
2. (Scotland) To lurch or set to spinning.

References

• Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, 1911
• Dictionary.com, birr

Etymology 2

From Amharic ?? (b?r, “silver”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /b??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /b???/, enPR: bîr
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Noun

birr (plural birrs)

1. The currency of Ethiopia, divided into 100 santims.

Synonyms

• ETB

Usage notes

Before 1976, the official name for the currency in English was dollar.

French

Noun

birr m (plural birrs)

1. birr (Ethiopian currency)

Old Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /b?ir??/

Adjective

birr

1. inflection of berr:
   1. vocative/genitive singular masculine
   2. accusative/dative singular feminine
   3. genitive singular neuter
   4. nominative plural masculine

Mutation

Spanish

Noun

birr m (plural birrs)

1. birr (currency)

English

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /b?/
• Homophones: Burr, brr
• Rhymes: -??(?)

Etymology 1

From Middle English burre, perhaps related to Old English byrst (“bristle”). Cognate with Danish burre, borre (“burdock, burr”), Swedish borre (“sea-urchin”).

Noun

burr (plural burrs)

1. A sharp, pointy object, such as a sliver or splinter.
2. A bur; a seed pod with sharp features that stick in fur or clothing.

   Synonym: sticker

   • 1855, Robert Browning, “Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came”, X:

     But cockle, spurge, according to their law / Might propagate their kind, with none to awe, / You'd think; a burr had been a treasure trove.

3. A small piece of material left on an edge after a cutting operation.
4. A thin flat piece of metal, formed from a sheet by punching; a small washer put on the end of a rivet before it is swaged down.
5. A broad iron ring on a tilting lance just below the grip, to prevent the hand from slipping.
6. The ear lobe.
7. The knot at the bottom of an antler.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic, influenced by bur. Compare to French bruire

Noun

burr (plural burrs)

1. A rough humming sound.
2. A uvular "r" sound, or (by extension) an accent characterized by this sound.

Translations

Verb

burr (third-person singular simple present burrs, present participle burring, simple past and past participle burred)

1. (transitive) To pronounce with a uvular "r".
2. (intransitive) To make a rough humming sound.
   • 1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Collins, 1998, Chapter 7,

     The first thing Lucy noticed as she went in was a burring sound, and the first thing she saw was a kind-looking old she-beaver sitting in the corner with a thread in her mouth working busily at her sewing machine, and it was from it that the sound came.

Translations

Etymology 3

Origin uncertain.

Noun

burr (plural burrs)

1. (historical) A metal ring at the top of the hand-rest on a spear.

Etymology 4

From burl.

Noun

burr (plural burrs)

1. (Britain) Alternative spelling of burl

Albanian

Alternative forms

• bunnë (Gheg)
• burrë (Standard, Tosk)

Noun

burr

1. (Gheg) husband
2. (Gheg) man

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *buriz (“male offspring; son”), from Proto-Indo-European *b?er- (“to bear, carry, bring”). Cognate with Old English byre, Gothic ???????????????? (baur).

Noun

burr m

1. son
   1. (when preceded by genitive of j?rð) kenning for Thor.
      • verse 1 of the Þrýmskviða, (1936 translation by Henry Adams Bellows)

2. poet

Declension

Synonyms

• (son): sonr

Descendants

• Icelandic: bur

References

• burr in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Yatzachi Zapotec

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish burro.

Noun

burr (possessed xpurr)

1. donkey
2. donkey-load

Derived terms

References

• Butler H., Inez M. (2000) Diccionario zapoteco de Yatzachi: Yatzachi el Bajo, Yatzachi el Alto, Oaxaca (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 37)?^[6], second electronic edition, Coyoacán, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 31