Burden - Burlesquer

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Burden (bûrd'n), n. [OE. burdoun the bass in music, F. bourdon; cf. LL. burdo drone, a long organ pipe, a staff, a mule. Prob. of imitative origin. Cf. .] 1. The verse repeated in a song, or the return of the theme at the end of each stanza; the chorus; refrain. Hence: That which is often repeated or which is dwelt upon; the main topic; as, the burden of a prayer.
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I would sing my song without a burden. Shak.
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2. The drone of a bagpipe. Ruddiman.
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Burden, n. [See .] A club. [Obs.] Spenser.
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burdened adj. bearing a heavy load; as, a hiker burdened with a heavy backpack.
Syn. -- heavy-laden, laden, weighed down.
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Burdener (�), n. One who loads; an oppressor.
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Burdenous (�), a. Burdensome. [Obs.] “Burdenous taxations.” Shak.
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Burdensome (�), a. Grievous to be borne; causing uneasiness or fatigue; oppressive.
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The debt immense of endless gratitude
So burdensome. Milton.
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Syn. -- Heavy; weighty; cumbersome; onerous; grievous; oppressive; troublesome.
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-- Burdensomely, adv. -- Burdensomeness, n.
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Burdock (�), n. [Bur + dock the plant.] (Bot.) A genus of coarse biennial herbs (Lappa), bearing small burs which adhere tenaciously to clothes, or to the fur or wool of animals.
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☞ The common burdock is the Lappa officinalis.
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Burdon (�), n. [See .] A pilgrim's staff. [Written also burden.] Rom. of R.
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Bureau (�), n.; pl. E. Bureaus (�), F. Bureaux (�). [F. bureau a writing table, desk, office, OF., drugget, with which a writing table was often covered, equiv. to F. bure, and fr. OF. buire dark brown, the stuff being named from its color, fr. L. burrus red, fr. Gr. � flame-colored, prob. fr. � fire. See , n., and cf. , n.] 1. Originally, a desk or writing table with drawers for papers. Swift.
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2. The place where such a bureau is used; an office where business requiring writing is transacted.
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3. Hence: A department of public business requiring a force of clerks; the body of officials in a department who labor under the direction of a chief.
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☞ On the continent of Europe, the highest departments, in most countries, have the name of bureaux; as, the Bureau of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In England and America, the term is confined to inferior and subordinate departments; as, the “Pension Bureau,” a subdepartment of the Department of the Interior. [Obs.] In Spanish, bureo denotes a court of justice for the trial of persons belonging to the king's household.
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4. A chest of drawers for clothes, especially when made as an ornamental piece of furniture. [U.S.]
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Coloq. Bureau system . See . -- Coloq. Bureau Veritas , an institution, in the interest of maritime underwriters, for the survey and rating of vessels all over the world. It was founded in Belgium in 1828, removed to Paris in 1830, and reëstablished in Brussels in 1870.
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Bureaucracy (�), n. [Bureau + Gr. � to be strong, to govern, � strength: cf. F. bureaucratie.] 1. A system of carrying on the business of government by means of departments or bureaus, each under the control of a chief, in contradiction to a system in which the officers of government have an associated authority and responsibility; also, government conducted on this system.
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2. Government officials, collectively; -- used especially of nonelected government officials.
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Bureaucrat (�), n. An official of a bureau; esp. an official confirmed in a narrow and arbitrary routine. C. Kingsley.
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bureaucratese n. the formal and often obscure style of writing characteristic of some government officials; officialese; -- it is characterized by euphemisms, circumlocutions, vague abstractions, and circumlocutions.
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{ Bureaucratic (�), Bureaucratical (�), } a. [Cf. F. bureaucratique.] Of, relating to, or resembling, a bureaucracy.
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bureaucratism n. nonelective government officials; same as .
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Bureaucratist (�), n. An advocate for, or supporter of, bureaucracy.
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Burel (�), n. & a. Same as .
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Burette (�), n. [F., can, cruet, dim. of buire flagon.] (Chem.) An apparatus for delivering measured quantities of liquid or for measuring the quantity of liquid or gas received or discharged. It consists essentially of a graduated glass tube, usually furnished with a small aperture and stopcock.
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Bur fish (�). (Zoöl.) A spinose, plectognath fish of the Allantic coast of the United States (esp. Chilo mycterus geometricus) having the power of distending its body with water or air, so as to resemble a chestnut bur; -- called also ball fish, balloon fish, and swellfish.
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Burg (�), n. [AS. burh, burg, cf. LL. burgus. See 1st .] 1. A fortified town. [Obs.]
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2. A borough. [Eng.] See 1st .
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Burgage (�), n. [From : cf. F. bourgage, LL. burgagium.] (Eng. Law) A tenure by which houses or lands are held of the king or other lord of a borough or city; at a certain yearly rent, or by services relating to trade or handicraft. Burrill.
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Burgall (�), n. (Zoöl.) A small marine fish; -- also called cunner.
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Burgamot (�), n. See .
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Burganet (�), n. See .
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Burgee (�), n. 1. A kind of small coat.
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2. (Naut.) A swallow-tailed flag; a distinguishing pennant, used by cutters, yachts, and merchant vessels.
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Burgeois (bûrjois), n. (Print.) See 1st .
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Burgeois (b�rzhwä), n. A burgess; a citizen. See 2d . [R.] Addison.
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Burgeon (�), v. i. To bud. See .
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Burgess (�), n. [OE. burgeis, OF. burgeis, fr. burcfortified town, town, F. bourg village, fr. LL. burgus fort, city; from the German; cf. MHG. burc, G. burg. See 1st , and cf. 2d .] 1. An inhabitant of a borough or walled town, or one who possesses a tenement therein; a citizen or freeman of a borough. Blackstone.
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☞ “A burgess of a borough corresponds with a citizen of a city.” Burrill.
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2. One who represents a borough in Parliament.
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3. A magistrate of a borough.
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4. An inhabitant of a Scotch burgh qualified to vote for municipal officers.
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☞ Before the Revolution, the representatives in the popular branch of the legislature of Virginia were called burgesses; they are now called delegates.
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Coloq. Burgess oath . See , 2.
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Burgess-ship (�), n. The state of privilege of a burgess. South.
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Burggrave (�), n. [G. burggraf; burg fortress + graf count: cf. D. burggraaf, F. burgrave. See .] (Germany) Originally, one appointed to the command of a burg (fortress or castle); but the title afterward became hereditary, with a domain attached.
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Burgh (�), n. [OE. See .] A borough or incorporated town, especially, one in Scotland. See .
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Burghal (�), a. Belonging to a burgh.
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Burghbote (�), n. [Burgh + bote.] (Old Law) A contribution toward the building or repairing of castles or walls for the defense of a city or town.
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Burghbrech (�), n. [Burgh + F. brèche, equiv. to E. breach.] (AS. Law) The offense of violating the pledge given by every inhabitant of a tithing to keep the peace; breach of the peace. Burrill.
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Burgher (�), n. [From burgh; akin to D. burger, G. bürger, Dan. borger, Sw. borgare. See .] 1. A freeman of a burgh or borough, entitled to enjoy the privileges of the place; any inhabitant of a borough.
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2. (Eccl. Hist.) A member of that party, among the Scotch seceders, which asserted the lawfulness of the burgess oath (in which burgesses profess “the true religion professed within the realm”), the opposite party being called antiburghers.
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☞ These parties arose among the Presbyterians of Scotland, in 1747, and in 1820 reunited under the name of the “United Associate Synod of the Secession Church.”
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Burghermaster (�), n. See .
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Burghership (�), n. The state or privileges of a burgher.
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Burghmaster (�), n. 1. A burgomaster.
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2. (Mining) An officer who directs and lays out the meres or boundaries for the workmen; -- called also bailiff, and barmaster. [Eng.]
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Burghmote (�), n. (AS. Law) [Burgh + mote meeting.] A court or meeting of a burgh or borough; a borough court held three times yearly.
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Burglar (�), n. [OE. burg town, F. bourg, fr. LL. burgus (of German origin) + OF. lere thief, fr. L. latro. See , and .] (Law) One guilty of the crime of burglary.
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Coloq. Burglar alarm , a device for giving alarm if a door or window is opened from without.
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Burglarer (�), n. A burglar. [Obs.]
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Burglarious (�), a. Pertaining to burglary; constituting the crime of burglary.
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To come down a chimney is held a burglarious entry. Blackstone.
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Burglariously, adv. With an intent to commit burglary; in the manner of a burglar. Blackstone.
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burglarproof adj. secure against burglary.
Syn. -- burglar-proof.
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Burglary (�), n.; pl. Burglaries (�). [Fr. ; cf. LL. burglaria.] (Law) Breaking and entering the dwelling house of another, in the nighttime, with intent to commit a felony therein, whether the felonious purpose be accomplished or not. Wharton. Burrill.
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☞ By statute law in some of the United States, burglary includes the breaking with felonious intent into a house by day as well as by night, and into other buildings than dwelling houses. Various degrees of the crime are established.
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burgle v. [by back-formation from burglar.] to commit a burglary; to enter and rob a dwelling.
Syn. -- burglarize, heist.
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Burgomaster (�), n. [D. burgemeester; burg borough + meester master; akin to G. burgemeister, bürgermeister. See 1st , and .] 1. A chief magistrate of a municipal town in Holland, Flanders, and Germany, corresponding to mayor in England and the United States; a burghmaster.
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2. (Zoöl.) An aquatic bird, the glaucous gull (Larus glaucus), common in arctic regions.
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Burgonet (�), n. [F. bouruignotte, because the Burgundians, F. Bouruignons, first used it.] A kind of helmet. [Written also burganet.] Shak.
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Burgoo (�), n. [Prov. E. burgood yeast, perh. fr. W. burym yeast + cawl cabbage, gruel.] A kind of oatmeal pudding, or thick gruel, used by seamen. [Written also burgout.]
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Burgrass (�), n. (Bot.) Grass of the genus Cenchrus, growing in sand, and having burs for fruit.
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Burgrave (�), n. [F.] See .
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Burgundy (�), n. 1. An old province of France (in the eastern central part).
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2. A richly flavored wine, mostly red, made in Burgundy, France.
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Coloq. Burgundy pitch , a resinous substance prepared from the exudation of the Norway spruce (Abies excelsa) by melting in hot water and straining through cloth. The genuine Burgundy pitch, supposed to have been first prepared in Burgundy, is rare, but there are many imitations. It has a yellowish brown color, is translucent and hard, but viscous. It is used in medicinal plasters.
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Burh (�), n. See . [Obs.]
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{ Burhel, Burrhel } (�), n. (Zoöl.) The wild Himalayan, or blue, sheep (Ovis burrhel).
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Burhinidae n. a natural family of large wading birds resembling the plovers; the stone curlews.
Syn. -- family Burhinidae.
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Burhinus n. type genus of the Burhinidae, comprising the stone curlews.
Syn. -- genus Burhinus.
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Burial (�), n. [OE. buriel, buriels, grave, tomb, AS. byrgels, fr. byrgan to bury, and akin to OS. burgisli sepulcher.] 1. A grave; a tomb; a place of sepulture. [Obs.]
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The erthe schook, and stoones weren cloven, and biriels weren opened. Wycliff [Matt. xxvii. 51, 52].
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2. The act of burying; depositing a dead body in the earth, in a tomb or vault, or in the water, usually with attendant ceremonies; sepulture; interment. “To give a public burial.” Shak.
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Now to glorious burial slowly borne. Tennyson.
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Coloq. Burial case , a form of coffin, usually of iron, made to close air-tight, for the preservation of a dead body. -- Coloq. Burial ground , a piece of ground selected and set apart for a place of burials, and consecrated to such use by religious ceremonies. -- Coloq. Burial place , any place where burials are made. -- Coloq. Burial service . (a) The religious service performed at the interment of the dead; a funeral service. (b) That portion of a liturgy which is read at an interment; as, the English burial service.
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Syn. -- Sepulture; interment; inhumation.
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buried adj. 1. covered from view; as, her face buried (or hidden) in her hands; buried in the smoke of many rifles.
Syn. -- hidden.
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2. placed in a grave; as, the hastily buried corpses. Opposite of unburied.
Syn. -- inhumed, interred.
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Burier (�), n. One who, or that which, buries.
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Till the buriers have buried it. Ezek. xxxix. 15.
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And darkness be the burier of the dead. Shak.
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Burin (�), n. [F. burin, cf. It. burino, bulino; prob. from OHG. bora borer, borōn to bore, G. bohren. See 1st .] 1. The cutting tool of an engraver on metal, used in line engraving. It is made of tempered steel, one end being ground off obliquely so as to produce a sharp point, and the other end inserted in a handle; a graver; also, the similarly shaped tool used by workers in marble.
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2. The manner or style of execution of an engraver; as, a soft burin; a brilliant burin.
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Burinist, n. One who works with the burin. For. Quart. Rev.
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Burion (�), n. (Zoöl.) The red-breasted house sparrow of California (Carpodacus frontalis); -- called also crimson-fronted bullfinch. [Written also burrion.]
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Burke (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burked (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Burking.] [From one Burke of Edinburgh, who committed the crime in 1829.] 1. To murder by suffocation, or so as to produce few marks of violence, for the purpose of obtaining a body to be sold for dissection.
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2. To dispose of quietly or indirectly; to suppress; to smother; to shelve; as, to burke a parliamentary question.
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The court could not burke an inquiry, supported by such a mass of a affidavits. C. Reade.
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Burkism (�), n. The practice of killing persons for the purpose of selling their bodies for dissection.
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Burl (bûrl), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burled (bûrld); p. pr. & vb. n. Burling.] [OE. burle stuffing, or a knot in cloth; cf. F. bourlet, bourrelet, OF. bourel, a wreath or a roll of cloth, linen, or leather, stuffed with flocks, etc., dim. of bourre. √92. See .] To dress or finish up (cloth); to pick knots, burs, loose threads, etc., from, as in finishing cloth.
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Coloq. Burling iron , a peculiar kind of nippers or tweezers used in burling woolen cloth.
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Burl, n. 1. A knot or lump in thread or cloth.
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2. An overgrown knot, or an excrescence, on a tree; also, veneer made from such excrescences.
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Burlap (�), n. A coarse fabric, made of jute or hemp, used for bagging; also, a finer variety of similar material, used for curtains, etc. [Written also burlaps.]
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burled (bûrld), adj. having an irregular pattern from the grain of a tree burl{2}, or one resembling such a pattern, in contrast to the regular wood grain consisting of parallel or concentric lines; -- of wood.
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Burler (�), n. One who burls or dresses cloth.
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Burlesque (�), a. [F. burlesque, fr. It. burlesco, fr. burla jest, mockery, perh. for burrula, dim. of L. burrae trifles. See .] Tending to excite laughter or contempt by extravagant images, or by a contrast between the subject and the manner of treating it, as when a trifling subject is treated with mock gravity; jocular; ironical.
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It is a dispute among the critics, whether burlesque poetry runs best in heroic verse, like that of the Dispensary, or in doggerel, like that of Hudibras. Addison.
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Burlesque (�), n. 1. Ludicrous representation; exaggerated parody; grotesque satire.
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Burlesque is therefore of two kinds; the first represents mean persons in the accouterments of heroes, the other describes great persons acting and speaking like the basest among the people. Addison.
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2. An ironical or satirical composition intended to excite laughter, or to ridicule anything.
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The dull burlesque appeared with impudence,
And pleased by novelty in spite of sense. Dryden.
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3. A ludicrous imitation; a caricature; a travesty; a gross perversion.
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Who is it that admires, and from the heart is attached to, national representative assemblies, but must turn with horror and disgust from such a profane burlesque and abominable perversion of that sacred institute? Burke.
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Syn. -- Mockery; farce; travesty; mimicry.
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Burlesque (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burlesqued (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Burlesquing (�).] To ridicule, or to make ludicrous by grotesque representation in action or in language.
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They burlesqued the prophet Jeremiah's words, and turned the expression he used into ridicule. Stillingfleet.
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Burlesque, v. i. To employ burlesque.
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Burlesquer (�), n. One who burlesques.
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