Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II). Includes material from the 1976 supplement.
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
BURR, BUR, n.1 [bʌr]
1. A fir-cone (n.Sc. 1808 Jam., bur; Bnff.2 1937).Ags. 1921 A. S. Neill Carroty Broon vi.:
Thereupon he sat on a mound and threw burrs at the girls.
2. “The sea-urchin” (Mry.4 1935; Bnff.2 1937; ne.Abd. 1898 E.D.D.).
3. A kind of fishing fly. Cf. Bur, n.1Ags. 1898 A. H. Rea Divot Dyke 73:
As bonnie a cast o' hooks as ye could see — Heckles, and burrs, and ither kinds o' flee.
4. fig “A strong thick-set person of stubborn temper” (Bnff. 1866 Gregor D. Bnff. 20).
5. The club-moss, Lycopodium, in combs. creeping bur, Lycopodium clavatum, upright bur, Lycopodium selago (Cai. 1795 J. Sinclair Agric. Cai. 197), so called from its somewhat rough prickly nature.
[N.Fris. burre, borre, a bur, burdock, Sw. borre, a sea-urchin (Skeat); Norw. borre, Dan. burre, the common burdock, Sw. dial. borre, a stubborn, rough person (Torp).]You may wish to vary the format shown below depending on the citation style used.
"Burr n.1". Dictionary of the Scots Language. 2004. Scottish Language Dictionaries Ltd. Accessed 18 May 2024 <http://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/burr_n1>
