bury English · revision 15250

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 1000|origins=ine-pro *bʰergʰ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɛɹi/; /ˈbeɹ.i/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|burien]], [[inh|ang|byrġan|t=to raise a mound, hide, inter]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*burzijaną]], related to [[m|ang|beorgan|t=to shelter, preserve]];^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) cognates include [[goh|bergan|t=to protect, shelter, conceal]] (modern [[m|de|bergen]]), [[non|bjarga]] and [[got|𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌲𐌰𐌽|tr=bairgan|t=to save, preserve]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The root is [[ine-pro|*bʰergʰ-|t=to hide, protect]].^(Etymonline) It is related to [[borrow]] and [[borough]].^(NODE 1998)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ To put a dead body in the ground or a tomb: before 1000 in the OED and Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) The Middle English forms are birien (probably before 1160, in the Peterborough Chronicle) and burien (probably before 1200, in Layamon's Brut).^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A figurative use is found from about 1175.^(OED 1989) To hide something in the ground, whatever the purpose, is from about 1340,^(OED 1989) and to consign to oblivion, to abandon and forget, from 1593.^(OED 1989) To cover over or conceal from sight is from 1711,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) as is burying-ground, a cemetery.^(Etymonline) To lose a relative through death (''she has buried two husbands'') is from 1710.^(OED 1989) Buried treasure is from 1801.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1000 – byrgan, to inter.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1340 – to hide in the ground.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1593 – to put out of mind.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1711 – to cover from sight; burying-ground.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1801 – buried treasure.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To put a dead body in a [[grave]] or [[tomb]], or into the sea; to [[inter]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To place in the ground and cover with earth.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To hide or cover from sight.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To lose someone through death.^(Collins 2023)

+ # To [[engross]] oneself deeply: ''buried in a book''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To put an end to; to abandon: ''bury the hatchet''.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[burier]]

+ * [[burial]]

+ * [[rebury]]

+ * [[burying beetle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[borough]]

+ * [[borrow]]

+ * [[burrow]]

+ * [[barrow]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The ''u'' is pronounced as ''e'', a mismatch of spelling and sound shared with [[busy]].^(Collins 2023) A separate noun bury, a manor-house or large farm, from Old English [[m|ang|burh]], is found from 1175,^(OED 1989) and in Bedfordshire dialect it meant the chief homestead of the lord of the soil, used only in place-names.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}