burrow

English

Etymology

Unknown. Formally, it appears to be a variant of borough and thus from Old English burh, 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 Dutch burcht, which does have a similar sense.

It may be related to bergh and bury (“to dig”), in which case it would be derived from Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- (“to protect, defend, save, preserve”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌɹəʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbʌɹoʊ/

  Audio (US)

  (file)

  (accents without the "Hurry-furry" merger)
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɜɹoʊ/

  Audio (US)

  (file)

  (accents with the "Hurry-furry" merger)
• Rhymes: -ʌrəʊ
• Homophone: borough (one pronunciation)

Noun

burrow (plural burrows)

1. A tunnel or hole, often as dug by a small creature.
   • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

     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. (mining) A heap or heaps of rubbish or refuse.
3. Obsolete form of barrow. A mound.
4. Obsolete form of borough. An incorporated town.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for burrow in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Translations

a tunnel or hole

• Arabic: جُحْر‎ m (juḥr), سَرَب‎ m (sarab), دَوْلَج‎ m (dawlaj)
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: нара́ f (nará)
• Bulgarian: ду́пка (bg) f (dúpka), ду́пка в земя́та f (dúpka v zemjáta) (на животно)
• Burmese: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: cau (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 地洞 (zh) (dìdòng)

• Czech: nora (cs) f
• Danish: jordhule c
• Dutch: hol (nl), burcht (nl) m or f
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: kolo (fi)
• French: terrier (fr) m, clapier (fr) m (rabbit burrow)
• Georgian: სორო (soro)
• German: Bau (de) m
• Greek:

  Ancient: φωλεός m (phōleós)

• Hebrew: please add this translation if you can
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Italian: tana (it) f, buca (it) f, covo (it) m, cunicolo (it) m
• Japanese: 穴 (ja) (あな, ana), 巣穴 (すあな, suana)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 굴 (ko) (gul), 소굴 (ko) (sogul)
• Latin: hola f

• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: urvas m, ola (lt) f
• Macedonian: дупка f (dupka), дупка в земјата f (dupka v zemjata)
• Maltese: please add this translation if you can
• Manx: towl m
• Maori: rua (mi), unu (mi), tūrua
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Persian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: jama (pl) f, nora (pl) f, tunel (pl) m
• Portuguese: túnel (pt), toca (pt)
• Romanian: vizuină (ro) f
• Russian: нора́ (ru) f (norá)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: јазбина f

  Roman: jazbina (sh) f

• Slovak: nora f
• Slovene: jazbina f
• Spanish: madriguera (es) f, ratonera f (mouse burrow)
• Swedish: gryt (sv) n, jordkula (sv) c, håla (sv) c
• Tagalog: lungga (tl)
• Thai: รู (th) (ruu)
• Tibetan: ས་འོག་ཚ་ཁུང (sa 'og tsha khung)
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: нора́ (uk) f (norá)
• Vietnamese: hang (vi)
• Welsh: twll (cy) m

Verb

burrow (third-person singular simple present burrows, present participle burrowing, simple past and past participle burrowed)

1. (intransitive) to dig a tunnel or hole
2. (intransitive) (with adverbial of direction) to move underneath or press up against in search of safety or comfort

   The young girl burrowed into the bed.

3. (intransitive) (with into) to investigate thoroughly

   The journalist burrowed into the origins of the mayor's corruption.

Translations

to dig a hole

• Bulgarian: ровя (bg) (rovja), изравям (bg) (izravjam)
• Dutch: wroeten (nl)
• Finnish: kaivaa (fi)
• German: graben (de)
• Italian: scavare una tana

• Lithuanian: kasti (lt)
• Maori: apu
• Polish: kopać (pl)
• Portuguese: cavar (pt)
• Spanish: socavar (es), cavar (es)