bur

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
bur
    n 1: seed vessel having hooks or prickles [syn: {bur}, {burr}]
    2: small bit used in dentistry or surgery [syn: {bur}, {burr}]
    v 1: remove the burrs from [syn: {bur}, {burr}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Bur \Bur\, Burr \Burr\ (b[^u]r), n. [OE. burre burdock; cf. Dan.
   borre, OSw. borra, burdock, thistle; perh. akin to E. bristle
   (burr- for burz-), or perh. to F. bourre hair, wool, stuff;
   also, according to Cotgrave, "the downe, or hairie coat,
   wherewith divers herbes, fruits, and flowers, are covered,"
   fr. L. burrae trifles, LL. reburrus rough.]
   1. (Bot.) Any rough or prickly envelope of the seeds of
      plants, whether a pericarp, a persistent calyx, or an
      involucre, as of the chestnut and burdock; a seed vessel
      having hooks or prickles. Also, any weed which bears burs.
      [1913 Webster]

            Amongst rude burs and thistles.       --Milton.
      [1913 Webster]

            Bur and brake and brier.              --Tennyson.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The thin ridge left by a tool in cutting or shaping metal.
      See {Burr}, n., 2.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. A ring of iron on a lance or spear. See {Burr}, n., 4.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. The lobe of the ear. See {Burr}, n., 5.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. The sweetbread.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. A clinker; a partially vitrified brick.
      [1913 Webster]

   7. (Mech.)
      (a) A small circular saw.
      (b) A triangular chisel.
      (c) A drill with a serrated head larger than the shank; --
          especially a small drill bit used by dentists.
          [1913 Webster]

   8. [Cf. Gael. borr, borra, a knob, bunch.] (Zool.) The round
      knob of an antler next to a deer's head. [Commonly written
      {burr}.]
      [1913 Webster]

   {Bur oak} (Bot.), a useful and ornamental species of oak
      ({Quercus macrocarpa}) with ovoid acorns inclosed in deep
      cups imbricated with pointed scales. It grows in the
      Middle and Western United States, and its wood is tough,
      close-grained, and durable.

   {Bur reed} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Sparganium}, having
      long ribbonlike leaves.
      [1913 Webster]
    

[email protected]