burger

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈbɜːɡə/ (UK); /ˈbɝ.ɡɚ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is a shortening of hamburger,^[2][3][4] first in American English.^[2][3] The element -burger was quickly abstracted from hamburger, even though a hamburger is not a burger of ham, in words like cheeseburger (1938) and beefburger (1940),^[2] and by 1941 it was recognized as a distinct combining form.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A hamburger: 1939 in Barnhart, Etymonline and the OED;^[2][3][5] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1937.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The OED notes that burger was also used as a term for a sandwich of other ingredients,^[5] and the SOED lists combinations such as beefburger, cheeseburger and nutburger.^[7]

Timeline

• 1938 – cheeseburger.^[2]
• 1939 – burger.^[2]
• 1940 – beefburger.^[2]
• 1941 – -burger as a combining form.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A hamburger: a bun with a cooked patty of minced beef and often cheese, onion, lettuce or sauces.
2. A similar sandwich with another filling, as in veggie burger.

Word family

• baconburger
• beefburger
• hamburger
• veggie burger

Related words

• cheeseburger

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press