BURKE


Meaning of BURKE in English

ˈbərk transitive verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: after William Burke died 1829 Irish criminal, executed for this crime

1. : to murder by suffocation or strangulation in order to obtain a body to be sold for dissection

2.

a. : to suppress quietly or indirectly : hush up

she had never believed such a thing as the burking of the enquiry into the raid possible — H.W.Nevinson

b. : to set aside without consideration or decision : bypass , avoid

burke the issue

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.