burka

Also bur·qa,

[boor-kuh, bur-]

noun

1. a loose garment covering the entire body and having a veiled opening for the eyes, worn by Muslim women.

burka

/ ˈbɜːkə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of burqa

Word History and Origins

Origin of burka¹

1830–40; < Urdu burgaʿ < dialectal Arabic burqaʿ

Word History and Origins

Origin of burka¹

C19: from Arabic

Example Sentences

Prosecutor Celestia John-Baptiste said: "He said he didn't know why he, as a white British person, could not wear a face covering when people could wear burkas."

Read more on BBC

The flyer also shows a woman wearing a burka that has been torn off from the neck down, exposing her chest.

Read more on BBC

He said tweets he had sent criticising the party's only female MP as "stupid" for raising the issue of whether Britain should ban the burka had been misjudged and that he had been "exhausted".

Read more on BBC

Yusuf resigned suddenly from the role on Thursday, shortly after saying it was "dumb" for new Reform MP Sarah Pochin to call on the prime minister to ban the burka.

Read more on BBC

However, she said that organisations should be able to decide what their staff wear and that she asked people coming to her constituency surgeries to remove face coverings "whether it's a burka or a balaclava".

Read more on BBC