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Burrow
Definitions
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 A place in England:; A hamlet in Broadclyst parish, East Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SX9997). countable, uncountable
- 3 A place in England:; A settlement in Newton Poppleford and Harpford parish, East Devon district, Devon (OS grid ref SY0789). countable, uncountable
- 4 A place in England:; A settlement in Kingsbury Episcopi parish, Somerset, which includes Higher Burrow and Lower Burrow (OS grid ref ST4120). countable, uncountable
- 5 A place in England:; A hamlet in Wootton Courtenay parish and Timberscombe parish, Somerset (OS grid ref SS9342). countable, uncountable
- 1 A tunnel or hole, often as dug by a small creature.
"But very soon he grew to like it, for the Boy used to talk to him, and made nice tunnels for him under the bedclothes that he said were like the burrows the real rabbits lived in."
- 2 a hole made by an animal, usually for shelter wordnet
- 3 Obsolete form of barrow (“a mound”). alt-of, obsolete
- 4 Obsolete form of borough (“an incorporated town”). alt-of, obsolete
- 1 To dig a tunnel or hole. intransitive
- 2 move through by or as by digging wordnet
- 3 To move underneath or press up against in search of safety or comfort. intransitive
"The young girl burrowed into the bed."
- 4 To investigate thoroughly. intransitive
"The journalist burrowed into the origins of the mayor's corruption."
Etymology
From Middle English borowe, borewe, borwȝ, burȝe, burh, burye (“refuge for an animal, lair, burrow”), apparently a variant of Middle English burgh (“fortified dwelling, stronghold, refuge”) (see borough) and thus from Old English burh, from Proto-West Germanic *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold, city”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“high”), but this sense is not known in Old English burh. Compare, however, Dutch cognate burcht, which has a similar sense. It may be related to bury (“to dig”), in which case it would be derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect, defend, save, preserve”).
From Middle English borowe, borewe, borwȝ, burȝe, burh, burye (“refuge for an animal, lair, burrow”), apparently a variant of Middle English burgh (“fortified dwelling, stronghold, refuge”) (see borough) and thus from Old English burh, from Proto-West Germanic *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold, city”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“high”), but this sense is not known in Old English burh. Compare, however, Dutch cognate burcht, which has a similar sense. It may be related to bury (“to dig”), in which case it would be derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect, defend, save, preserve”).
English surname, from the noun borough. Also from the noun burrow and the two senses were often conflated. Compare Burrough, Burgh.
See also for "burrow"
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