Etymologically
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burner

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 15:40. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈbɜːnə/[1]
  • US: /ˈbɝnɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English brennere,[2][3][4] formed from Middle English brennen (“to burn”) + -ere,[3] that is burn and -er.[5][6][7][8] The verb burn comes chiefly from Old Norse brenna (“to burn, light”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A person who makes bricks or the like by fire: in 1280 in the surname of one Jord. le Brenner.[2][7] The OED's first quotation, from Wyclif about 1380, has the general sense, one who burns or destroys by fire.[5]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English a brennere could also be an incendiary.[2] From 1463 the word named those who produce something by burning, chiefly in compounds such as brick-burner, charcoal-burner and lime-burner;[5] in Lincolnshire dialect a burner was a man who burned bricks or lime.[9] Johnson (1755) gave only "a person that burns any thing".[8] The part of a lamp from which the flame comes is recorded from 1790,[5][7] and the part of a gas cooker through which the gas passes from 1885.[5][7] American slang used burner for a swindler from 1838 and a card-sharp in 1859,[5][10] and in the 1940s for a cheap cigar or a pipe.[10] The newest sense, a cheap prepaid mobile phone used for a short time and then thrown away, is recorded from 2002.[5]

Timeline

  • 1280 – in the surname le Brenner.[2]
  • c. 1380 – one who burns.[5]
  • 1463 – one who produces something by burning.[5]
  • 1790 – the part of a lamp from which the flame comes.[5][7]
  • 1838 – American slang, a swindler.[5]
  • 1856 – a vessel to hold something burning.[5]
  • 1885 – the part of a gas cooker where the gas burns.[5][7]
  • 2002 – a cheap prepaid mobile phone.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The part of a furnace, stove or lamp where the flame is produced.[11][5]
  2. A ring or element on a stove top that produces heat: She put the kettle on the front burner.[11][5]
  3. A unit in which something is burned, such as an oil burner or an incinerator.[11]
  4. A person whose work is burning something, such as bricks, lime or charcoal.[3][5][6]
  5. One that burns something.[3][5][6]
  6. (colloquial) A cheap prepaid mobile phone used for a short time and then thrown away.[5]
  7. A sharp pain caused by the compression of a nerve.[11]

Word family

  • afterburner
  • barnburner
  • charcoal burner
  • gas burner
  • oil burner

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
  10. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  11. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt