burke
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also Burke
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Eponym, from William Burke.
[edit] Pronunciation
[edit] Verb
burke (third-person singular simple present burkes, present participle burking, simple past and past participle burked)
- To murder by suffocation, or so as to produce few marks of violence, for the purpose of obtaining a body to be sold for dissection.
- 1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, Chapter 31:
- ‘You don’t mean to say he was burked, Sam?’ said Mr. Pickwick, looking hastily round.
- 1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, Chapter 31:
- To smother; to conceal, hush up, suppress.
- 1888, Rudyard Kipling, "A Bank Fraud," Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio 2005, p. 128:
- He put away—burked—the Directors' letter, and went in to talk to Riley
- 1888, Rudyard Kipling, "A Bank Fraud," Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio 2005, p. 128:
[edit] Noun
burke (plural burkes)
