Burletta - Burst
Prev Next
Burletta (bûrlĕttȧ), n. [It., dim. of burla mockery. See , a.] (Mus.) A comic operetta; a music farce. Byron.
[ Webster]
Burliness (bûrlĭnĕs), n. Quality of being burly.
[ Webster]
Burly (bûrl�), a. [OE. burlich strong, excellent; perh. orig. fit for a lady's bower, hence handsome, manly, stout. Cf. .] 1. Having a large, strong, or gross body; stout; lusty; -- now used chiefly of human beings, but formerly of animals, in the sense of stately or beautiful, and of inanimate things that were huge and bulky. “Burly sacks.” Drayton.
[ Webster]
In his latter days, with overliberal diet, [he was] somewhat corpulent and burly.
Sir T. More.
[ Webster]
Burly and big, and studious of his ease.
Cowper.
[ Webster]
2. Coarse and rough; boisterous.
[ Webster]
It was the orator's own burly way of nonsense.
Cowley.
[ Webster]
Burman (�), n.; pl. Burmans (�). [“The softened modern M'yan-ma, M'yan-ma [native name] is the source of the European corruption Burma.” Balfour.], (Ethnol.) A member of the Burman family, one of the four great families Burma; also, sometimes, any inhabitant of Burma; a Burmese. -- a. Of or pertaining to the Burmans or to Burmah. Burma is now (1998) named Myanmar.
[ Webster]
Burmannia n. the type genus of the Burmanniaceae; slender herbs of warm regions with leaves resembling scales and flowers with a 3-angled or 3-winged perianth.
Syn. -- genus Burmannia.
[WordNet 1.5]
Burmanniaceae n. a natural family of chiefly tropical herbs with basal or bractlike leaves and small flowers.
Syn. -- family Burmanniaceae.
[WordNet 1.5]
Bur marigold (�). See .
[ Webster]
Burmese (�), a. Of or pertaining to Burmah, or its inhabitants. -- n. sing. & pl. A native or the natives of Burma (Myanmar). Also (sing.), the language of the Burmans.
[ Webster]
Burmese-Yi n. a language spoken in Northern Burma and Yunnan.
Syn. -- Lolo-Burmese.
[WordNet 1.5]
Burn (bûrn), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burned (bûrnd) or Burnt (bûrnt); p. pr. & vb. n. Burning.] [OE. bernen, brennen, v. t., early confused with beornen, birnen, v. i., AS. bærnan, bernan, v. t., birnan, v. i.; akin to OS. brinnan, OFries. barna, berna, OHG. brinnan, brennan, G. brennen, OD. bernen, D. branden, Dan. brænde, Sw. bränna, brinna, Icel. brenna, Goth. brinnan, brannjan (in comp.), and possibly to E. fervent.] 1. To consume with fire; to reduce to ashes by the action of heat or fire; -- frequently intensified by up: as, to burn up wood. “We'll burn his body in the holy place.” Shak.
[ Webster]
2. To injure by fire or heat; to change destructively some property or properties of, by undue exposure to fire or heat; to scorch; to scald; to blister; to singe; to char; to sear; as, to burn steel in forging; to burn one's face in the sun; the sun burns the grass.
[ Webster]
3. To perfect or improve by fire or heat; to submit to the action of fire or heat for some economic purpose; to destroy or change some property or properties of, by exposure to fire or heat in due degree for obtaining a desired residuum, product, or effect; to bake; as, to burn clay in making bricks or pottery; to burn wood so as to produce charcoal; to burn limestone for the lime.
[ Webster]
4. To make or produce, as an effect or result, by the application of fire or heat; as, to burn a hole; to burn charcoal; to burn letters into a block.
[ Webster]
5. To consume, injure, or change the condition of, as if by action of fire or heat; to affect as fire or heat does; as, to burn the mouth with pepper.
[ Webster]
This tyrant fever burns me up.
Shak.
[ Webster]
This dry sorrow burns up all my tears.
Dryden.
[ Webster]
When the cold north wind bloweth, . . . it devoureth the mountains, and burneth the wilderness, and consumeth the ��ass as fire.
Ecclus. xliii. 20, 21.
[ Webster]
6. (Surg.) To apply a cautery to; to cauterize.
[ Webster]
7. (Chem.) To cause to combine with oxygen or other active agent, with evolution of heat; to consume; to oxidize; as, a man burns a certain amount of carbon at each respiration; to burn iron in oxygen.
[ Webster]
Coloq. To burn , Coloq. To burn together , as two surfaces of metal (Engin.), to fuse and unite them by pouring over them a quantity of the same metal in a liquid state. -- Coloq. To burn a bowl (Game of Bowls), to displace it accidentally, the bowl so displaced being said to be burned. -- Coloq. To burn daylight , to light candles before it is dark; to waste time; to perform superfluous actions. Shak. -- Coloq. To burn one's fingers , to get one's self into unexpected trouble, as by interfering the concerns of others, speculation, etc. -- Coloq. To burn out , (a) to destroy or obliterate by burning. “Must you with hot irons burn out mine eyes?” Shak. (b) to force (people) to flee by burning their homes or places of business; as, the rioters burned out the Chinese businessmen. -- Coloq. To be burned out , to suffer loss by fire, as the burning of one's house, store, or shop, with the contents. -- Coloq. To burn up , Coloq. To burn down , to burn entirely.
[ Webster]
Burn, v. i. 1. To be of fire; to flame. “The mount burned with fire.” Deut. ix. 15.
[ Webster]
2. To suffer from, or be scorched by, an excess of heat.
[ Webster]
Your meat doth burn, quoth I.
Shak.
[ Webster]
3. To have a condition, quality, appearance, sensation, or emotion, as if on fire or excessively heated; to act or rage with destructive violence; to be in a state of lively emotion or strong desire; as, the face burns; to burn with fever.
[ Webster]
Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way?
Luke xxiv. 32.
[ Webster]
The barge she sat in, like a burnished throne,
Burned on the water.
Shak.
[ Webster]
Burning with high hope.
Byron.
[ Webster]
The groan still deepens, and the combat burns.
Pope.
[ Webster]
The parching air
Burns frore, and cold performs the effect of fire.
Milton.
[ Webster]
4. (Chem.) To combine energetically, with evolution of heat; as, copper burns in chlorine.
[ Webster]
5. In certain games, to approach near to a concealed object which is sought. [Colloq.]
[ Webster]
Coloq. To burn up , Coloq. To burn down , to be entirely consumed.
[ Webster]
Burn, n. 1. A hurt, injury, or effect caused by fire or excessive or intense heat.
[ Webster]
2. The operation or result of burning or baking, as in brickmaking; as, they have a good burn.
[ Webster]
3. A disease in vegetables. See , n., 6.
[ Webster]
Burn, n. [See 1st .] A small stream. [Scot.]
[ Webster]
Burnable (�), a. Combustible. Cotgrave.
[ Webster]
Burned (�), p. p. & a. See .
[ Webster]
Burned (�), p. p. Burnished. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]
burned-out burnt-out adj. prenom. 1. drained of energy or effectiveness; driven to apathy by overwork or prolonged stress; -- of people.
Syn. -- burned out(predicate), burnt out(predicate), fagged, exhausted, fatigued, played-out(prenominal), played out(predicate), spent, washed-out(prenominal), washed out(predicate), worn-out(prenominal), worn out(predicate).
[WordNet 1.5]
2. damaged or destroyed by or as if by fire; as, barricaded the street with burned-out cars.
Syn. -- burned out(predicate), burnt out(predicate).
[WordNet 1.5]
Burner (�), n. 1. One who, or that which, burns or sets fire to anything.
[ Webster]
2. The part of a lamp, gas fixture, etc., where the flame is produced.
[ Webster]
Coloq. Bunsen's burner (Chem.), see . -- Coloq. Argand burner , Coloq. Rose burner , etc. See under , , etc.
[ Webster]
Burnet (�), n. [OE. burnet burnet; also, brownish (the plant perh. being named from its color), fr. F. brunet, dim. of brun brown; cf. OF. brunete a sort of flower. See .] (Bot.) A genus of perennial herbs (Poterium); especially, Poterium Sanguisorba, the common, or garden, burnet.
[ Webster]
Coloq. Burnet moth (Zoöl.), in England, a handsome moth (Zygæna filipendula), with crimson spots on the wings. -- Coloq. Burnet saxifrage . (Bot.) See . -- Coloq. Canadian burnet , a marsh plant (Poterium Canadensis). -- Coloq. Great burnet , Coloq. Wild burnet , Poterium oficinalis (or Sanguisorba oficinalis).
[ Webster]
Burnettize (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burnettized (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Burnettizing.] (Manuf.) To subject (wood, fabrics, etc.) to a process of saturation in a solution of chloride of zinc, to prevent decay; -- a process invented by Sir William Burnett.
[ Webster]
Burnie (�), n. [See 4th .] A small brook. [Scot.] Burns.
[ Webster]
Burniebee (�), n. The ladybird. [Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]
Burning, a. 1. That burns; being on fire; excessively hot; fiery.
[ Webster]
2. Consuming; intense; inflaming; exciting; vehement; powerful; as, burning zeal.
[ Webster]
Like a young hound upon a burning scent.
Dryden.
[ Webster]
Coloq. Burning bush (Bot.), an ornamental shrub (Euonymus atropurpureus), bearing a crimson berry.
[ Webster]
Burning, n. The act of consuming by fire or heat, or of subjecting to the effect of fire or heat; the state of being on fire or excessively heated.
[ Webster]
Coloq. Burning fluid , any volatile illuminating oil, as the lighter petroleums (naphtha, benzine), or oil of turpentine (camphine), but esp. a mixture of the latter with alcohol. -- Coloq. Burning glass , a convex lens of considerable size, used for producing an intense heat by converging the sun's rays to a focus. -- Coloq. Burning house (Metal.), the furnace in which tin ores are calcined, to sublime the sulphur and arsenic from the pyrites. Weale. -- Coloq. Burning mirror , a concave mirror, or a combination of plane mirrors, used for the same purpose as a burning glass.
[ Webster]
Syn. -- Combustion; fire; conflagration; flame; blaze.
[ Webster]
Burnish (�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Burnished (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Burnishing.] [OE. burnischen, burnissen, burnen, OF. burnir, brunir, to make brown, polish, F. brunir, fr. F. brun brown, fr. OHG. br�n; cf. MHG. briunen to make brown, polish. See , a.] To cause to shine; to make smooth and bright; to polish; specifically, to polish by rubbing with something hard and smooth; as, to burnish brass or paper.
[ Webster]
The frame of burnished steel, that east a glare
From far, and seemed to thaw the freezing air.
Dryden.
[ Webster]
Now the village windows blaze,
Burnished by the setting sun.
Cunningham.
[ Webster]
Coloq. Burnishing machine , a machine for smoothing and polishing by compression, as in making paper collars.
[ Webster]
Burnish, v. i. To shine forth; to brighten; to become smooth and glossy, as from swelling or filling out; hence, to grow large.
[ Webster]
A slender poet must have time to grow,
And spread and burnish as his brothers do.
Dryden.
[ Webster]
My thoughts began to burnish, sprout, and swell.
Herbert.
[ Webster]
Burnish, n. The effect of burnishing; gloss; brightness; luster. Crashaw.
[ Webster]
Burnisher (�), n. 1. One who burnishes.
[ Webster]
2. A tool with a hard, smooth, rounded end or surface, as of steel, ivory, or agate, used in smoothing or polishing by rubbing. It has a variety of forms adapted to special uses.
[ Webster]
{ Burnoose, Burnous } (�), n. [Ar. burnus a kind of high-crowned cap: cf. F. bournous, burnous, Sp. al-bornoz, a sort of upper garment, with a hood attached.] 1. A cloaklike garment and hood woven in one piece, worn by Arabs.
[ Webster]
2. A combination cloak and hood worn by women. [Variously written bournous, bernouse, bornous, etc.]
[ Webster]
burn out v. i. 1. To burn till the fuel is exhausted; as, when the candle burned out the room was totally dark; the firefighters couldn't control the oil tank fire and had to let it burn out by itself.
[ Webster +PJC]
2. To stop functioning due to failure of some component caused by the heat of the electrical current used in its operation; -- of electrical devices.
[PJC]
3. To become apathetic or depressed, and cease to function effectively, due to the fatigue and frustration of prolonged stress and overwork; -- of people; as, the stress in the bond market is so great that many traders burn out after only ten years on the job.
[PJC]
Burnstickle (�), n. (Zoöl.) A stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus).
[ Webster]
Burnt (�), p. p. & a. Consumed with, or as with, fire; scorched or dried, as with fire or heat; baked or hardened in the fire or the sun.
[ Webster]
Coloq. Burnt ear , a black, powdery fungus which destroys grain. See . -- Coloq. Burnt offering , something offered and burnt on an altar, as an atonement for sin; a sacrifice. The offerings of the Jews were a clean animal, as an ox, a calf, a goat, or a sheep; or some vegetable substance, as bread, or ears of wheat or barley. Called also burnt sacrifice. [2 Sam. xxiv. 22.]
[ Webster]
burn-up n. a high-speed motorcycle race on a public road. [British slang]
[WordNet 1.5]
burnup n. the amount of fuel used up (as in a nuclear reactor).
[WordNet 1.5]
burp v. i. to same as ; as, In China it is polite to burp at the table.
Syn. -- bubble, belch, eruct, expel gas.
[WordNet 1.5]
burp v. t. to cause to belch; -- used especially of actions parents take to relieve stomach gas in infants; as, mother fed and burped the baby, and put her to bed.
[PJC]
burp, burping n. a reflex that expels wind noisily from the stomach through the mouth.
Syn. -- belch, belching, burping, eructation.
[WordNet 1.5]
Burr (bûr), n. [See .] (Bot.) 1. A prickly seed vessel. See , 1.
[ Webster]
2. The thin edge or ridge left by a tool in cutting or shaping metal, as in turning, engraving, pressing, etc.; also, the rough neck left on a bullet in casting.
[ Webster]
The graver, in plowing furrows in the surface of the copper, raises corresponding ridges or burrs.
Tomlinson.
[ Webster]
3. 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.
[ Webster]
4. A broad iron ring on a tilting lance just below the gripe, to prevent the hand from slipping.
[ Webster]
5. The lobe or lap of the ear.
[ Webster]
6. [Probably of imitative origin.] A guttural pronounciation of the letter r, produced by trilling the extremity of the soft palate against the back part of the tongue; rotacism; -- often called the Newcastle burr, Northumberland burr, or Tweedside burr.
[ Webster]
7. The knot at the bottom of an antler. See , n., 8.
[ Webster]
Burr (�), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Burred (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Burring.] To speak with burr; to make a hoarse or guttural murmur. Mrs. Browning.
[ Webster]
Burrel (�), n. [Cf. OF. burel reddish (cf. , n.), or F. beurré butter pear, fr. beurre butter. Cf. .] A sort of pear, called also the red butter pear, from its smooth, delicious, soft pulp.
[ Webster]
Burrel, n. Same as .
[ Webster]
Burrel fly (�). [From its reddish color. See 1st .] (Zoöl.) The botfly or gadfly of cattle (Hypoderma bovis). See .
[ Webster]
Burrel shot (�). [Either from annoying the enemy like a burrel fly, or, less probably, fr. F. bourreler to sting, torture.] (Gun.) A mixture of shot, nails, stones, pieces of old iron, etc., fired from a cannon at short range, in an emergency. [R.]
[ Webster]
burrfish n. any of several fishes having rigid flattened spines.
[WordNet 1.5]
Burring machine (�). A machine for cleansing wool of burs, seeds, and other substances.
[ Webster]
burrito n. (Mexico) a flour tortilla folded around a filling.
[WordNet 1.5]
Burr millstone (�). See .
[ Webster]
Burro (�), n. [Sp., an ass.] (Zoöl.) A donkey. [Southern U.S.]
[ Webster]
Burrock (�), n. [Perh. from AS. burg, burh, hill + -ock.] A small weir or dam in a river to direct the stream to gaps where fish traps are placed. Knight.
[ Webster]
Burrow (�), n. [See 1st .] 1. An incorporated town. See 1st .
[ Webster]
2. A shelter; esp. a hole in the ground made by certain animals, as rabbits, for shelter and habitation.
[ Webster]
3. (Mining) A heap or heaps of rubbish or refuse.
[ Webster]
4. A mound. See 3d , and , n., 5.
[ Webster]
Burrow, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Burrowed (�); p. pr. & vb. n. Burrowing.] 1. To excavate a hole to lodge in, as in the earth; to lodge in a hole excavated in the earth, as conies or rabbits.
[ Webster]
2. To lodge, or take refuge, in any deep or concealed place; to hide.
[ Webster]
Sir, this vermin of court reporters, when they are forced into day upon one point, are sure to burrow in another.
Burke.
[ Webster]
Coloq. Burrowing owl (Zoöl.), a small owl of the western part of North America (Speotyto cunicularia), which lives in holes, often in company with the prairie dog.
[ Webster]
Burrower (�), n. One who, or that which, burrows; an animal that makes a hole under ground and lives in it.
[ Webster]
Burrstone, n. See .
[ Webster]
Burry (�), a. Abounding in burs, or containing burs; resembling burs; as, burry wool.
[ Webster]
Bursa (�), n.; pl. Bursæ (�). [L. See .] (Anat.) Any sac or saclike cavity; especially, one of the synovial sacs, or small spaces, often lined with synovial membrane, interposed between tendons and bony prominences.
[ Webster]
Bursal (�), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to a bursa or to bursæ.
[ Webster]
Bursar (�), n. [LL. bursarius, fr. bursa purse. See , and cf. .] 1. A treasurer, or cash keeper; a purser; as, the bursar of a college, or of a monastery.
[ Webster]
2. A student to whom a stipend or bursary is paid for his complete or partial support.
[ Webster]
Bursarship, n. The office of a bursar.
[ Webster]
Bursary (�), n.; pl. -ries (�). [LL. bursaria. See .] 1. The treasury of a college or monastery.
[ Webster]
2. A scholarship or charitable foundation in a university, as in Scotland; a sum given to enable a student to pursue his studies. “No woman of rank or fortune but would have a bursary in her gift.” Southey.
[ Webster]
Bursch (�), n.; pl. Burschen (�). [G., ultimately fr. LL. bursa. See .] A youth; especially, a student in a german university.
[ Webster]
Burschenschaft (?), n.; pl. -schaften (#). [G.] In Germany, any of various associations of university students formed (the original one at Jena in 1815) to support liberal ideas, or the organization formed by the affiliation of the local bodies. The organization was suppressed by the government in 1819, but was secretly revived, and is now openly maintained as a social organization, the restrictive laws having been repealed prior to 1849. -- Burschenschaftler (#), Burschenschafter (#), n.
[Webster Suppl.]
Burse (�), n. [LL. bursa, or F. bourse. See , and cf. , .] 1. A purse; also, a vesicle; a pod; a hull. [Obs.] Holland.
[ Webster]
2. A fund or foundation for the maintenance of needy scholars in their studies; also, the sum given to the beneficiaries. [Scot.]
[ Webster]
3. (Eccl.) An ornamental case of hold the corporal when not in use. Shipley.
[ Webster]
4. An exchange, for merchants and bankers, in the cities of continental Europe. Same as .
[ Webster]
5. A kind of bazaar. [Obs.]
[ Webster]
She says she went to the burse for patterns.
Old Play.
[ Webster]
Burseraceae n. a natural family of resinous or aromatic chiefly tropical shrubs or trees.
Syn. -- family Burseraceae, torchwood family.
[WordNet 1.5]
Bursiculate (�), a. [See .] (Bot.) Bursiform.
[ Webster]
Bursiform (�), a. [LL. bursa purse + -form.] Shaped like a purse.
[ Webster]
Bursitis (�), n. [NL., fr. E. bursa + -itis.] (Med.) Inflammation of a bursa.
[ Webster]
Burst (�), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Burst; p. pr. & vb. n. Bursting. The past participle bursten is obsolete.] [OE. bersten, bresten, AS. berstan (pers. sing. berste, imp. sing. bærst, imp. pl. burston, p. p. borsten); akin to D. bersten, G. bersten, OHG. brestan, OS. brestan, Icel. bresta, Sw. brista, Dan. briste. Cf. , .] 1. To fly apart or in pieces; of break open; to yield to force or pressure, especially to a sudden and violent exertion of force, or to pressure from within; to explode; as, the boiler had burst; the buds will burst in spring.
[ Webster]
From the egg that soon
Bursting with kindly rupture, forth disclosed
Their callow young.
Milton.
[ Webster]
Often used figuratively, as of the heart, in reference to a surcharge of passion, grief, desire, etc.
[ Webster]
No, no, my heart will burst, an if I speak:
And I will speak, that so my heart may burst.
Shak.
[ Webster]
2. To exert force or pressure by which something is made suddenly to give way; to break through obstacles or limitations; hence, to appear suddenly and unexpectedly or unaccountably, or to depart in such manner; -- usually with some qualifying adverb or preposition, as forth, out, away, into, upon, through, etc.
[ Webster]
Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth.
Milton.
[ Webster]
And now you burst (ah cruel!) from my arms.
Pope.
[ Webster]
A resolved villain
Whose bowels suddenly burst out.
Shak.
[ Webster]
We were the first that ever burst
Into that silent sea.
Coleridge.
[ Webster]
To burst upon him like an earthquake.
Goldsmith.
[ Webster]
Prev Next
Concept Explore Home
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z