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• burnet
  burnet

  noun

  any of several plants belonging to the genera Sanguisorba and Poterium, of the rose family, having pinnate leaves and dense heads of small flowers.
• Burnet
  Burnet

  noun

  Sir (Frank) Macfarlane 1899–1985, Australian physician: Nobel Prize in Physiology 1960.

burnet

¹ American  

[ber-net, bur-nit] / bərˈnɛt, ˈbɜr nɪt /

noun

1. any of several plants belonging to the genera Sanguisorba and Poterium, of the rose family, having pinnate leaves and dense heads of small flowers.

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Burnet ² American  

[ber-net, bur-nit] / bərˈnɛt, ˈbɜr nɪt /

noun

1. Sir (Frank) Macfarlane 1899–1985, Australian physician: Nobel Prize in Physiology 1960.

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burnet ¹ British  

/ ˈbɜːnɪt /

noun

1. a plant of the rosaceous genus Sanguisorba (or Poterium ), such as S. minor (or P. sanguisorba ) ( salad burnet ), which has purple-tinged green flowers and leaves that are sometimes used for salads

2. a very prickly Eurasian rose, Rosa pimpinellifolia , with white flowers and purplish-black fruits

3. a Eurasian umbelliferous plant of the genus Pimpinella , having umbrella-like clusters of white or pink flowers

4. a moth of the genus Zygaena , having red-spotted dark green wings and antennae with enlarged tips: family Zygaenidae

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Burnet ² British  

/ bəˈnɛt, ˈbɜːnɪt /

noun

1. Gilbert . 1643–1715, Scottish bishop and historian, who played a prominent role in the Glorious Revolution (1688–89); author of The History of My Own Times (2 vols: 1724 and 1734)

2. Sir ( Frank ) Macfarlane (məkˈfɑːlən). 1899–1985, Australian physician and virologist, who shared a Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1960 with P. B. Medawar for their work in immunology

3. Thomas . 1635–1715, English theologian who tried to reconcile science and religion in his Sacred theory of the Earth (1680–89)

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Etymology

Origin of burnet

1225–75; Middle English < Middle French burnete, variant of brunete ( see brunet); so called from its hue

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

burnet Burnet

The rare habitat is home to deep-rooting wild flowers and grasses like great burnet and devil's-bit scabious.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Longtime customers of Mr. Bowen’s recognize some themes, like the iterations of Sanguisorba, or burnet, perennials with catkin-like inflorescences he described as “a bobble, a burr or a brush in some color.”

From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2021

When I encounter something unique, such as Cuban oregano, chervil or salad burnet, I give it a try, and if I end up using it throughout the season, it becomes one of the regulars, too.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 5, 2019

Oregano and Cuban oregano grow next to each other alongside a patch of salad burnet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 14, 2018

He thought it over as he hopped down the bank and sniffed out a patch of salad burnet in the grass.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

The ranch where she lives in Burnet County northwest of Austin, Texas, could be bisected by one of the high-voltage power lines proposed to crisscross the state.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

The statement said a machine that he was operating near his hometown of Burnet caught fire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2026

Federal and local authorities began carrying out rescue missions as more rain overran households in the towns of Burnet and Liberty Hill, extending the damage well into Saturday.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025

Mr. Rufo and Mr. Burnet acknowledged that some critics “might object to any punishment, arguing that her dissertation is decades old, or that these instances of plagiarism appear to be highly technical, or even trivial.”

From Washington Times ● Dec. 11, 2023

In early life the archbishop was very intimate with Gilbert Burnet, then bishop of Salisbury, and in later life he was a prominent figure in Irish politics.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5 "Hinduism" to "Home, Earls of" by Various

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