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burro

[bur-oh, boo r-oh, buhr-oh]
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noun, plural bur·ros.
  1. a small donkey, especially one used as a pack animal in the southwestern U.S.
  2. any donkey.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for burro

Historical Examples

  • 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.

  • "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
  1. a donkey, esp one used as a pack animal
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Word Origin

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

n.

"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."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper