burr 1
/berr/ , n.
1. Also, buhr . a protruding, ragged edge raised on the surface of metal during drilling, shearing, punching, or engraving.
2. a rough or irregular protuberance on any object, as on a tree.
3. a small, hand-held, power-driven milling cutter, used by machinists and die makers for deepening, widening, or undercutting small recesses.
4. a lump of brick fused or warped in firing.
v.t.
5. to form a rough point or edge on.
6. deburr. Also, bur (for defs. 1, 3).
[ 1605-15; sp. var. of BUR 1 ]
burr 2
/berr/ , n.
1. a washer placed at the head of a rivet.
2. a blank punched out of a piece of sheet metal.
Also, bur .
[ 1375-1425; late ME burrewez (pl.), buruhe circle, var. of brough round tower; see BROCH ]
burr 3
/berr/ , n.
1. a pronunciation of the r- sound as a uvular trill, as in certain Northern English dialects.
2. a pronunciation of the r- sound as an alveolar flap or trill, as in Scottish English.
3. any pronunciation popularly considered rough or nonurban.
4. a whirring noise.
v.i.
5. to speak with a burr.
6. to speak roughly, indistinctly, or inarticulately.
7. to make a whirring sound.
v.t.
8. to pronounce (words, sounds, etc.) with a burr.
[ 1750-60; appar. both imit. and associative, the sound being thought of as rough like a bur ]
burr 4
/berr/ , n.
burstone.
Also, buhr .
[ 1250-1300; ME burre, prob. so called from its roughness ]