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burl
[ burl ]
/ bɜrl /
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noun
a small knot or lump in wool, thread, or cloth.
a dome-shaped growth on the trunk of a tree; a wartlike structure sometimes 2 feet (0.6 meters) across and 1 foot (0.3 meters) or more in height, sliced to make veneer.
verb (used with object)
to remove burls from (cloth) in finishing.
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We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
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Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
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Origin of burl
1400–50; late Middle English burle ≪ Old French; akin to Medieval Latin burla bunch, sheaf, Late Latin burra wool, fluff
OTHER WORDS FROM burl
burler, nounWords nearby burl
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use burl in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for burl (1 of 2)
burl1
/ (bɜːl) /
noun
a small knot or lump in wool
a roundish warty outgrowth from the trunk, roots, or branches of certain trees
verb
(tr) to remove the burls from (cloth)
Derived forms of burl
burler, nounWord Origin for burl
C15: from Old French burle tuft of wool, probably ultimately from Late Latin burra shaggy cloth
British Dictionary definitions for burl (2 of 2)
burl2
birl
/ (bɜːl) /
noun informal
Scot, Australian and NZ an attempt; try (esp in the phrase give it a burl)
Australian and NZ a ride in a car
Word Origin for burl
C20: perhaps from birl 1 in the Scot sense: a twist or turn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for burl
burl
[ bûrl ]
A large, rounded outgrowth on the trunk or branch of a tree. Burls develop from one or more twig buds whose cells continue to multiply but never differentiate so that the twig can elongate into a limb. Burls do not usually cause harm to trees.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.