burglar English · revision 1602

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbɝɡlɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|xno|burgler]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate) an alteration of earlier ''burgesour'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995) influenced by [[la-med|burglātor]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) itself an alteration of ''burgātor'',^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from ''burgāre'' “to break open, commit burglary”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) from [[la-lat|burgus|t=fortress, castle]].^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) ''Burgus'' is of Germanic origin and related to [[borough]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline) Etymonline suggests the unetymological ''-l-'' may be due to Latin ''latro'' “thief”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One who is guilty of burglary (before 1268 in the OED;^(OED 1989) 1541 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster).^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word has always meant a housebreaker.^(OED 1989)^(Wiktionary) Middle English had ''burgur'' and ''housbreker'' for the same thing.^(Etymonline) ''Burglar alarm'' dates from 1840,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''burglarize'' from 1871 in American English,^(Barnhart 1995) and the back-formation ''burgle'' from 1872.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1268 – one guilty of burglary, in the OED's earliest citation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1532–33 – ''burglary'', as a legal term.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1541 – ''burglar'' in English.^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1840 – ''burglar alarm''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1871 – ''burglarize'', American English.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1872 – ''burgle''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who commits [[burglary]], breaking into a building to steal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[burglarious]]

+ * [[burglarize]]

+ * [[burglarproof]]

+ * [[burglary]]

+ * [[burgle]]

+ * [[burglar alarm]]

+ * [[cat burglar]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}