birr

See also: Birr

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English bir (“favorable or strong wind; assault, blow strike, violence, fury; strength”), from Old English byre (“strong wind, storm”); cognate with Icelandic byrr (“sailing winds”), Albanian borë (“snow”) and Latin borea (“North wind”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /bɜː/
  • (US) IPA(key): /bɝ/, enPR: bur
  • Rhymes: -ɜː(r)

Noun

birr (plural birrs)

  1. force, vigor, energy
  2. a strong wind.
  3. the force of the wind; rush, impetus, momentum, driving force
  4. a thrust or push
  5. a whirring noise
    • 1916, Colonel J.A. Currie, “XVII The Battle of Neuve Chapelle”, in The Red Watch, With the First Canadian Division in Flanders‎, Reprint edition, Project Gutenberg, published 2009:
      When the British Tommies heard the "birr" of the five-inch Canadian shells they all asked whose they were.
  6. a strong trilling pronunciation
    • 2011 April 24, Kevin McKenna, “Labour needs to challenge Alex Salmond – and quickly”, in The Guardian‎:
      Gray possesses an unfortunate East of Scotland birr that suggests a 21-year-old student interviewing for his first job.

Verb

birr (third-person singular simple present birrs, present participle birring, simple past and past participle birred)

  1. To make a whirring noise; make a noise like that of revolving wheels, or of millstones at work.

References

  • Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, 1911
  • Dictionary.com, birr

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for birr in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

Etymology 2

From Amharic ብር (bir, “silver”)

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /bɪə/
  • (US) IPA(key): /bɪɹ/, enPR: bîr
  • Rhymes: -ɪə(ɹ)

Noun

birr (plural birrs)

  1. The currency of Ethiopia, divided into 100 santims.
Synonyms

Usage notes

Before 1976, the official name for the currency in English was dollar.

French

Noun

birr m (plural birrs)

  1. birr (Ethiopian currency)

Old Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bʲir͈ʲ/

Adjective

birr

  1. inflection of berr:
    1. vocative and genitive singular masculine
    2. accusative and dative singular feminine
    3. genitive singular neuter
    4. nominative plural masculine

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
RadicalLenitionNasalization
birr birr
pronounced with /v(ʲ)-/		 mbirr
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Spanish

Noun

birr m (plural birrs)

  1. birr (currency)
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