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burin

American  
[byoor-in, bur-] / ˈbjʊər ɪn, ˈbɜr- /

noun

  1. a tempered steel rod, with a lozenge-shaped point and a rounded handle, used for engraving furrows in metal.

  2. a similar tool used by marble workers.

  3. a prehistoric pointed or chisel-like flint tool.


burin British  
/ ˈbjʊərɪn /

noun

  1. a chisel of tempered steel with a sharp lozenge-shaped point, used for engraving furrows in metal, wood, or marble

  2. an engraver's individual style

  3. archaeol a prehistoric flint tool with a very small transverse edge

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of burin

First recorded in 1655–65; from French, from Italian burino (now bulino ) “graving tool,” equivalent to bur- (perhaps from Germanic; see bore 2) + -ino -ine 2

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“The main thing is practice,” said Raftery, 61, who picked up a burin, the engraver’s tool, in his third year of art school and was hooked.

From Seattle Times Sep. 25, 2023

Engraving is a very difficult technique, in which a metal burin is forced into a wooden or metal plate.

From Salon Feb. 12, 2017

But it is still Piranesi the fantast and archivist, the obsessed historian with a burin, who holds the eye today.

From Time Magazine Archive

Letter forms no longer followed the paths of the scribe's pen or engraver's burin, but were constructed with ruler and compasses.

From Time Magazine Archive

A master engraver expertly carves his designs onto a polished copper plate using an engraving tool called a burin.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

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