burro

[bur-oh, boo r-oh, buhr-oh]

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noun, plural bur·ros.

a small donkey, especially one used as a pack animal in the southwestern U.S.

any donkey.

Origin of burro

1790–1800; < Spanish < Portuguese, back formation from burrico ass < Vulgar Latin *burriccus for Late Latin burrīcus pony

Can be confusedborough burro burrow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for burro

mule, ass, jackass

Examples from the Web for burro

Historical Examples of burro

And my burro sleeps beneath the wall, in the shadow of nodding roses.
The Book of Khalid
Ameen Rihani
The donkey, or burro, as it is called, is to be seen everywhere in this country.
Aztec Land
Maturin M. Ballou
The old Indian cut off some strips of burro jerke and threw them on the coals.
The Treasure Trail
Marah Ellis Ryan
Bring up that third burro; I want to examine these fragments a little.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, March 1930
Various
"Looks as if a burro had been here from the tracks," exclaimed Roger.
The Forbidden Trail
Honor Willsie

British Dictionary definitions for burro

burro

noun plural -ros

a donkey, esp one used as a pack animal

Word Origin for burro

C19: Spanish, from Portuguese, from burrico donkey, ultimately from Latin burrīcus small horse

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

Word Origin and History for burro

"donkey," 1800, from Spanish burrico "donkey," from Late Latin burricus "small, shaggy horse," probably from burrus "reddish-brown," from Greek pyrros "flame-colored, yellowish-red," from pyr (genitive pyros) "fire" (see fire (n.)). Or, for its shaggy hair, from Late Latin burra "wool."