▪ I. burn, n.1
(bɜːn)
Forms: 1 burna, burne, burn, 2–6 burne, (4 bourne, buerne), 4–5 brynne, 3– burn. See also bourne n.1
[Common Teut.: the OE. burna wk. masc., burne wk. fem., burn str. fem. (apparently not distinguished in sense) correspond to OFris. burna masc., MDu. borne masc., Du. born, MLG. borne, born masc., mod.G. (poet.) born masc., which are metathetic forms of the words appearing as OHG. brunno, Goth. brunna wk. masc., Du. bron masc., ON. brunn-r str. masc., repr. OTeut. types *brunnon-, *brunno-z. The primitive and prevailing sense of the Teut. word is ‘spring, fountain’, of which there are some traces in OE., the word being used to render Lat. fons of the Vulgate.
A connexion is often assumed with brunn- ablaut-stem of OTeut. *brin-n-an burn v.1, on the supposition that that root had originally the wider sense ‘well up, be in commotion’, applicable to water as well as to fire; but of this there is no actual evidence. Curtius and others have regarded the n. as cogn. w. Gr. ϕρέαρ a well, supposing the root to be the same with that of L. fervēre to boil up; but the form of the Teut. word does not permit this explanation.]
1. In OE.: A spring, fountain; a stream or river. In later use: A small stream or brook. Now (exc. in the form bourne n.1) chiefly north.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xviii. 1 Þa eode he ofer ða burnan Cedron. a 1250 Moral Ode in Lamb. Hom. 175 Weter..of þe burne. a 1250 Owl & Night. 916 An ydel wel, That springeth bi burne thar is suel. 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 78 At that burn eschapit the king. a 1400 Cov. Myst. (1841) 162 By bankys and brynnys browne. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 611 Thair blude like burnis rynnand on the grene. 1641 Nth. Riding Records iv. 206 Presentment for nonpayment of assessment..for Whitby-burne [previously always beck]. 1753 Stewart's Trial 191 Allan Breck..was fishing in a burn near the deponent's house. 1839 Stonehouse Axholme 311 Well watered by a beck or burn. 1855 Browning Last Ride Together viii, Yonder girl that fords the burn. 1878 Black Macleod of D. I. 176 Munching the young grass, and drinking out of the burn. |
2. (
a) Water from a fountain or well. (
b) ‘Warm water used in brewing or washing’ (Jamieson).
| a 800 Corpus Gloss. (O.E. Texts) 1185 Latex, burne. c 1000 ælfric Voc. Suppl. in Wr.-Wülcker 177 Latex, burna. c 1565 Lyndesay Satyre 4140 To mak thin aill they think na falt Of mekill burne and lytill malt. a 1806 Allan o' Maut in Jamieson Pop. Ballads II. 239 (Jam.) They..put the burn untill the gleed. |
b. Said
poet. like
flood, of the sea.
Cf. brook.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 12523 Thretty and two [shippes] There were brent on the buerne with the breme low. |
† c. to make one's burn: to ‘make water’.
Obs.| 1788 Picken Poems 118 (Jam.) Or stap the very haly sang To mak his burn. |
3. attrib. and in
comb., as
burn-brae,
burn-fishing,
burn-foot,
burn-head,
burn-mouth,
burn-trout; also
burn-gate, a small water-course;
burn-side, the side of a brook, the strip of ground alongside of it.
| 1724 Ramsay Tea-T. Misc. (1733) I. 57 They bigg'd a bower on yon *burn-brae. |
| 1873 G. C. Davies Mount. & Mere xiii. 104 Good sport for *burn fishing. |
| 1832 Carlyle Remin. i. 36 Every dell and *burngate..he had traversed. |
| 1875 J. Veitch Tweed 30 The depths of glen that fold The *Burn⁓heads. |
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 5768 All borne were þai backe to þe *buerne syde. 1789 Burns A waukrife Minnie ii, By yon burnside..wi' my minnie. 1849 W. Irving Crayon Misc. 255 The green shaws and burnsides of Scotland. |
| 1805 R. Forsyth Beauties Scotl. II. 360 Pike are..caught with..lines baited with *burn-trouts or frogs. |
▪ II. † burn, n.2 Obs. exc. dial. Also 4
byrne, 5–7
burne, 8
Sc. birn.
Contracted form of
burden n.| c 1375 Barbour St. Thadea 231 Al my synnis ful & sere I band as it a byrne hade bene. ? a 1400 Chester Pl. i. (1843) 65 Isaake..taketh a burne of stickes and beareth after his father. 1595 B. Chappell in Farr S.P. (1845) II. 465 The earth of late hath shakt herself, As wearie of her sin⁓full burne. 1614 Scourge of Venus (1876) 40 Weeping much her burne to beare. a 1774 Fergusson Farmer's Ingle in Poems (1845) 38 How big a birn maun lie on Bassie's back. 1855 E. Waugh in Lanc. Sk. 50 Gathering..‘a burn o' nettles’ to put in their broth. 1880 West. Cornw. Gloss. (E.D.S.) Burn, twenty-one hakes (probably a burden). |
Hence
burn-rope, a rope for carrying a burden.
▪ III. burn, n.3 (
bɜːn)
Forms: 4–6
brenne, 6–7
burne, 7–
burn,
Sc. 6–
birn (in sense 2).
[f. burn v.1 The earlier brenne derives from the ME. form brenn-en of the vb.: it took the place of the orig. n. bryne, brene, brune, q.v.] 1. a. The act or effect of burning;
esp. an injury to the body caused by burning, a burnt place.
| [a 1300 Havelok 1239 Hwan he..the fir brouth on brenne.] 1594 Plat Chem. Conclus. 20 It is commended especiallie in a burne. 1601 Holland Pliny xx. viii. (R.) [It] healeth any burne or scalding. a 1691 Boyle (J.) A very effectual remedy against burns. 1813 J. Thomson Inflamm. 137 An external injury, as a blow, a wound, or a burn. |
b. spec. An instance of burning the vegetation on land as a means of clearing it for cultivation. (
Cf. burning vbl. n. 8 a and e.)
c. A place where the trees or brush have been burned; a clearing in the woods made in this way.
N. Amer.,
Austral., and
N.Z.| 1792 J. Belknap Hist. New Hampshire III. 132 Much depends on getting what is called a good burn, to prepare the ground for planting. 1834 S. Moodie Jrnl. 28 Apr. in Six Years in Bush (1838) 92 [Canada] A great burn, during which the wind rose so high as to endanger my shanty. 1839 E. Holmes Rep. Explor. Aroostook River 69 Very little ploughing is as yet done, since most of the crops are raised on a ‘burn’. 1854 J. M. Richmond Let. 19 Feb. in Richmond–Atkinson Papers (1960) I. 143 He wants to preserve a magnificent red pine..that a good burn would probably have killed. 1868 Amer. Naturalist Oct. 468 They [sc. deer] resort always to a recent burn, when grass and weeds are just shooting again and are soft. 1905 W. Baucke in D. M. Davin N.Z. Short Stories (1953) 85 Suddenly..where one had looked for fresh wonders of forest beauty, spread a settler's recent burn! 1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Sept. 215/3 In places where a good primary burn was not obtained stumps and tree trunks [still] litter the ground. |
d. A manifestation of anger or frustration;
usu. in
phr. slow burn, a display of slowly-mounting anger; the act or state of gradually becoming enraged.
colloq. (
orig. U.S.).
| 1938 Daily News (Los Angeles) 2 Aug. 18 The saga of the Slow Burn Man, or ‘Killer’ [Edgar] Kennedy. 1951 ‘J. Tey’ Daughter of Time xiv. 184 Just a nice polite reasonable Act for him to swallow and like it. I bet he did a slow burn about that one. 1969 H. Carvic Miss Seeton draws Line v. 93 A slow burn began inside Bob. |
e. A ‘smoke’; tobacco,
esp. a cigarette;
to have a burn: to smoke a cigarette.
slang.| 1941 G. Jeffery in Penguin New Writing II. 89, I just sat there, having a burn, dressed to go home. 1943 Baker Dict. Austral. Slang (ed. 3) 17 Burn, a cigarette. ‘To twist a burn’, to roll a cigarette. 1956 A. Thorne Baby & Battleship ii. 89 Rolling cigarettes for ‘a quiet burn’. 1964 Times 26 June 14/6 To a non-smoker [in prison] it is..an advantage to acquire a steady income of ‘burn’. |
f. The provision of thrust by the engine of a spacecraft. Also
attrib.| 1965 K. W. Gatland Spacecraft & Boosters II. 266/2 First stage thrust, 172,000 lb, burn time 146 sec; second stage thrust, 7,500 lb, burn time, 165 sec. 1968 Radio Times 19 Dec. 41/1 The rocket burn that takes Apollo away from Earth orbit. 1969 Guardian 8 Mar. 1/1 Relieved ground controllers heard that the burn had gone as planned. |
2. a. A mark made by burning, a brand.
| [1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 28 b, If any of these sayde officers fynde any maner of catell hauynge no suche brenne.] 1563 Sc. Acts Mary (1597) §85 That all bestiall, slane to land⁓wart and Burgh..bring with them in all times cumming their hide, skin, and birne, vnder the paine of confiscation. 1661 Sc. Acts Chas. II, xxxiii. (Jam.) That no barrel be sooner made and blown, but the coupers birn be set thereon. 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3947/4 A Burn on the near Shoulder with the Letters R. C. 1820 Scott Monast. ix, A fat bullock..somewhat kenspeckle, and marked both with cut and birn. |
b. ‘
skin and birn, a common phrase, denoting the whole of anything, or of any number of persons and things.’ Jamieson,
s.v. Birn. (
Cf. quot. 1563 above.)
| 1718 Ramsay Christ's Kirk iii. xv, The smith's wife..fand him skin and birn. 1806 A. Douglas Poems 143 (Jam.) Now a' thegither, skin an' birn, They're round the..table. |
c. A branding iron, brand.
| 1641 Best Farm. Bks. (1856) 71 When yow marke..dippe in the very bottome of the burne and botte, and then it maketh a cleaner and better impression. |
d. attrib.| 1705 Lond. Gaz. No. 4179/4 An X burn mark on the near Buttock. 1879 Shropshire Word-bk., Burn-mark, (1) the mark on an animal's hide made by the brand-iron, obs.; (2) the stamp of the brand-iron on tools and implements. |
3. a. Heat, ‘hot haste’, velocity.
rare.
| 1835 L. Hunt Capt. Sword vi. 75 Lo! the earth went round To the burn of their speed with a golden sound. |
b. slang. A race, ride, or drive in a motor car, etc., at high speed;
= burn-up (b)
s.v. burn-.
| 1966 Telegraph (Brisbane) 19 Oct. 14/7 A youth had told police after a car chase, ‘I thought you were a mate and I was going to give you a burn’. 1969 Sunday Truth (Brisbane) 14 Sept. 12/5 Garry..was invited to go in it for a drive. They said they were going for a burn. 1977 Rolling Stone 13 Jan. 45/3 The nonstop, trans-Texas burn was 800 miles and Aykroyd took it in 16 hours. |
▪ IV. burn, v.1 (
bɜːn)
pa. tense and pple. burned (
bɜːnd),
burnt (
bɜːnt). Forms: α.
inf. 1
beornan, (
bearnan,
bernan), 2–3
beornen,
birnen, 2–4
berne(n, 4–6
birne,
byrne, 5–7
burne, (6
bourne), 6–
burn.
pa. tense, strong 1
bearn, (
barn),
pl. burnon, 3
born,
pl. burnen;
weak 3–4
bernde, 5
byrnyd, 6
byrned, 7–
burnt, 9
burned.
pa. pple. 1
bornen;
weak 6–
burnt,
burned. β.
inf. 1
brinnan, 2–3
brinnen, 3–4
brinne,
brin, 4–6
brynne,
bryn.
pa. tense (1
bran), 3– 5
brint, (3
brind), 4
brinde, 4–5
brynt, 5
brynnede, 5–
Sc. brunt, (6
brint).
pa. pple. 3–6
brint, 3–4
brind, 5–6
brynt, 6–
Sc. brunt, (6
brount). γ.
inf. 1
bærnan, 2–3
bærnen,
barnen, 3
bearnen,
Orm. bærnenn.
pa. tense 1
bærnde, 3
barnde,
bearnde.
pa. pple. 1
bærned. δ.
inf. 3–4
brennen, 3–6
brenne,
bren,
brene, 8–9
north. dial. bren.
pa. tense 3
Orm. brennde, 3–5
brende, 3–6
brente, 4–5
brennede,
-yde, (5
brend), 4–6
brenned, 4–7
brent.
pa. pple. 3–6 (
dial. 6–)
brent, (
-te,
-tte), 3–6
brend, (
-de), 6 (9
dial.)
brenned, (7
brended).
[The modern verb represents two earlier verbs, viz. (1) the intransitive strong vb., Goth. brinnan, (brann, brunnum; brunnans), ON. brinnan (later brennan), OS., OHG., MHG. brinnan, OE. brinnan, by metathesis *birnan, bernan, beornan, (bran, barn, born, bearn; burnon, bornen) ‘ardere’; and (2) the derived factitive weak vb., Goth. brannjan (brannida, branniþs), ON. brenna, OS., OHG. brenn(i)an, (MHG. and Ger. brennen), OE. bærnan (by metathesis for bręnnan), bærnde, ‘urere’. Beornan and bærnan were still distinct in OE., but ran together early in the ME. period. ME. had four types of the present stem, bern-, brin(n-, barn-, bren(n-, the two former of which appear to represent the intr., and the third the trans. OE. verb; bren(n- appears to be mainly the ON. brenna, but may partly have originated by metathesis from bern-. Of the original strong verb, the strong pa. tense does not appear later than Layamon, and the distinction of transitive and intransitive was soon lost, the different types being used indiscriminately as to sense, though with dialectal preferences. Brenne, brent was the most common type in late ME., and even down to the 16th c., when it was somewhat abruptly dispossessed by burn, burnt, app. the descendant of the earlier bern-, birn-, though the continuity is not very clearly made out, as, between the 13th and 16th c., this type is scarcely recorded in Sc. writers. In the
Teut. brinn-an it is considered that only
brin- (:—Aryan
*bhren) belongs to the root, the second
n being originally a present suffix:
cf. OE. bryne:—
OTeut. *bruni-z burning. The root does not appear outside Teutonic: the comparisons often made rest on the untenable assumption that the
n of
brin- is not radical.
The distinction in usage between the two modern forms of the
pa. tense and
pa. pple. is difficult to state with precision.
Burnt is now the prevailing form, and its use is always permissible;
burned is slightly archaic, and somewhat more formal in effect; it occurs more frequently as
pa. tense, or in combination with the auxiliary
have than as
ppl. adj.]
I. Intransitive senses.
1. a. Of fire, a furnace, or conflagration: To be in the state of activity characteristic of fire; to be in the state of combustion. Sometimes the prominent notion is that of intense heat (whence also
transf. of a fever, etc.): sometimes that of the visible flaming or blazing.
| α c 1000 [see burning ppl. a.]. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 97 Ic walde sendan fur on eorðan, and ic wile þat hit berne. c 1205 Lay. 289 In þere temple he lette beornen enne blase of fure. 1535 Coverdale Isa. lxv. 5 Smoke and fyre, that shal burne for euer. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. i. 113 Sometime a fire [Ile be]..and burne. 1665 in Phil. Trans. I. 80 The Air enters to make the Fire burn. 1864 Tennyson En. Ard. 72 A still and sacred fire, That burn'd as on an altar. |
| β a 1400 Syr Perc. 440 A bryghte fire..Brynnande therby. c 1530 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 29 A gret fyre brynnyng vp-an a houce. |
| γ c 1200 Ormin 10452 Haliȝ Gast iss haliȝ fir, Þatt bærneþþ i þatt herrte. a 1250 Moral Ode 125 in E.E.P. (1862) 30 Þer is fur þat eure barnð. |
| δ 1382 Wyclif Isa. lxv. 5 Fyr brennende all dai. c 1400 Mandeville vi. (1839) 69 As the fyre began to brenne. 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) P vj, The fire that brenneth in mount Ethna. |
b. fig. Of the passions, as love, wrath, etc.; also
poet. of a battle: To be fierce, furious; to glow, rage.
| α c 825 Vespasian Psalter ii. 12 Ðonne beorneð in scortnisse eorre his. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. vii. 23 Quench your Loues hot fire..Lest it should burne aboue the bounds of reason. 1611 Bible Gen. xliv. 18 Let not thine anger burne against thy seruant. 1718 Pope Iliad xiii. 313 This said, he rushes where the combat burns. 1844 Mem. Babylonian P'cess II. 313 The grace of the Holy Spirit..burns in his heart. 1876 Green Short Hist. i. §2 (1882) 12 The rage of the conquerors burnt fiercest against the clergy. |
| δ c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 1747 Desyr That in his herte brende as any fer. a 1541 Wyatt Lovers Case 41 Abroad needs must it [love] glide, That brens so hot within. |
2. a. Of matter: To be in process of consumption by fire; to be on fire; to be enveloped in flames.
| α c 1000 ælfric Deut. v. 23 Ȝe ᵹehirdon his word & ᵹesawon þone munt birnan. a 1225 Ancr. R. 306 Ȝe schulen..bernen mid him iðe eche fure of helle. 1375 Barbour Bruce xvii. 619 Thai flaggatis byrnand in a baill. 1423 Jas. I. King's Q. clxviii, The fyre In quhich I birn. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 48 b, Chyppes, hey, or hardes, mater apte to burne. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, v. v. 109 That hand shall burne in neuer-quenching fire. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. i. 7 A place that burns with Fire and Brimstone. 1728 Pope Dunc. iii. 105 Padua with sighs beholds her Livy burn. 1810 Henry Elem. Chem. (1826) I. 406 It then burns with a pale yellow flame. 1864 Tennyson Ringlet 53 Burn, you glossy heretic. |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 5742 (Gött.) Ȝon tre..þat brinand semis as on ferre. 15.. in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 15 Though he deserve To brynne and stewe In the infernal glede. |
| γ c 1270 Saints' Lives (Laud MS.) (1887) 229 Þe more þat þe þorn barnde, þe grenore þe leues were. |
| δ c 1300 St. Brandan 511 So stronge brende the mountayne. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 326 Brynge in better wode · or blowe it till it brende. ? a 1400 Chester Pl. ii. (1847) 148 The fourth daie after then Sea and watter all shall brene. |
b. fig. Of persons, of the heart, etc.: To be on fire (with desire, lust, passion, wrath); to glow, pant. Often followed by infinitive of purpose: To desire ardently.
| α c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xxiv. 32 Næs uncer heorte byrn⁓ende [950 Lindisf. bernende; 975 Rushw. biornende; 1160 Hatton beornende] þa he on weᵹe wið unc spæc. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 95 Þe halia gast..dude þet heo weren birn⁓ende on godes willan. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 4875 That law..Causyng ȝoung Clerkis byrne in lustis rage. 1579 Fenton Guicciard. (1618) 181 Burning in desire to be reuenged of the Gibelins. 1611 Bible Rom. i. 27 Men..burned in their lust one towards another. 1720 Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. I. v. 297 Virginius burnt with Impatience to revenge himself of Appius. 1885 Stevenson Dynamiter xiii. 195 You cannot conceive How I burn to see you on the gallows. |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 23271 Þai war won to brin in catel wit couetise to win. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 52 Bet is to be wedded than to brynne. 1513 Douglas æneis ii. iii.[ii.] 84 Than haistit we, and brint to heir him say. |
| γ a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1362 Bearninde al as he was of grome and of teone. |
| δ c 1320 R. Brunne Medit. 201 Þyn herte shulde brenne for grete loue. 1430 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. v, For him I brenne as doth the glede. a 1547 Earl of Surrey Aeneid ii. 403 To throng out..our hartes brent with desire. |
c. lit. and
fig. With certain modifying adverbs.
to burn out, forth: to burst out in flame (
arch.).
to burn out, also (
quasi-refl. and pass.)
to burn itself out,
to be burnt out: to burn until extinguished by want of fuel;
spec. (
a) of an electrical valve, fuse, etc.; (
b) of a space rocket. Also,
to burn oneself out: to exhaust one's strength (by over-exertion) (1937 in Partridge
Dict. Slang s.v.).
to burn down,
burn low: to burn until it becomes feeble from want of fuel.
to burn up: to take strong hold of the combustible material, get fairly alight. Also with certain
adjs. denoting the colours or quality of the flame, as
to burn red,
blue,
bright, etc.
| 1382 Wyclif Wisd. xvi. 19 Fyr brende out on either side. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 34 Violent fires soone burne out themselues. 1814 Lett. fr. England I. viii. 92 Till the lights were burnt out. 1816 Southey Ess. (1832) I. 336 In the tenth year of the war, the spirit of Jacobinism was burnt out in France. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. ii. ix. 214 Till it burn forth, in our conduct, a visible, acted Gospel. a 1887 Mod. Do not let the fire burn out. It is burnt out already. His zeal will soon burn itself out. The fire has burnt down to a spark. Do not go before the fire has burnt up. 1931 Boys' Mag. XIV. 171/1 To operate the valve with increase of voltage does not solve the problem, for this means that the valve (which is already partially ruined) will soon cease to function, or in other words ‘burn out’. 1955 R. Bannister First Four Minutes iv. 48, 7½ miles is much too far for me—I want to be a miler and I shall burn myself out. 1958 Listener 11 Dec. 992/1 The American rocket..burns out over the Sahara Desert. |
¶ Phys. Occasionally used (with conscious metaphor) for: To undergo the same kind of chemical change (oxidation) as in burning, accompanied by more or less evolution of heat.
| 1885 Huxley Phys. 17 All parts of the body are continually being oxidized, or, in other words, are continually burning. |
d. Of nuclear fuel: to undergo fission or fusion. Also
const. up.
| 1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 June 337/2 When a uranium pile burns—physicists use the word habitually and correctly—useful energy is released under control. 1959 New Scientist 29 Jan. 242/2 So that the element will not buckle as it burns up, a metal frame is welded around it to brace it in the middle. |
3. a. gen. To become or be violently hot; said of solids or gases (not of liquids). Also of persons: To have a sensation like that arising from exposure to fire; often of the face, as an effect of shame or anger; also (
colloq.) of the ears, in allusion to the superstition that a person's ears feel hot when he is spoken of in his absence.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. in Sweet Ags. Read. 92 His [Herod's] lichama barn wiðutan mid langsumere hætan. c 1563 Jack Juggler s. B2v., I feel a vengeable burning in my left ere. 1607 W. S. Puritaine i. s. B4v., I warrant my Kinsman's talking of me, for my left eare burnes most tyrannically. 1727 De Foe Syst. Magic i. ii. (1840) 59 If you put it [lime] into water, it would burn. 1738 Swift Polite Conv. i. 70 Miss, didn't your Left Ear burn last Night?.. Because..you were extoll'd to the Skies. 1868 Dickens Let. 25 May (1938) III. 651, I dine with Dolby..and if your ears do not burn from six to nine this evening, then the Atlantic is a non-conductor. 1881 Oxfordsh. Gloss. Suppl. (E.D.S.) If it be my own true love, burn, cheek, burn. 1967 G. Fallon Rendezvous in Rio xvii. 146 ‘Richard! We were just talking about you!’.. ‘Is that so? No wonder my ears were burning!’ |
† b. To be inflamed, suffer from inflammatory disease.
spec. Of a horse: To suffer from glanders.
Obs. or
dial.| 1611 Bible Lev. xiii. 24 If..the quicke flesh that burneth haue a white bright spot. 1686 Lond. Gaz. No. 2155/4 A dark bay Nag..commonly burning at the left Nostril. |
c. fig. the money, etc., burns in one's pocket, meaning that the owner is eager to take it out, or spend it. (The same notion is expressed by other constructions of the verb;
e.g. to burn one's pocket,
a hole in one's pocket,
cf. 16; more rarely the pocket is said
to be burning out with its contents.)
| 1740 Mrs. Delany Autobiog. & Corr. (1861) II. 165 The post brought me your letter, which burnt in my pocket. 1768 Tucker Lt. Nat. I. 152 Children..cannot rest till they get rid of their money, or, as we say, it burns in their pockets. 1849 Cobden Speeches 82 Your pockets are burning out at the bottom with railway shares. 1885 Harper's Mag. Feb. 361/1 The thousand dollars was burning in her pocket-book. |
d. In certain games: of a person approaching so near to a concealed object sought, that he would feel it very warm or hot, if it were fire. (
Cf. warm.) Hence
fig. To approach near to the truth. [
Cf. Fr. ‘nous brûlons, comme on dit au jeu de pincette’.]
| 1821 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 355 (Jam.) As children say at hide-and-seek..I do flatter myself that I burn in the conclusion of this paper. 1871 F. Hall Mod. English (1873) 339 As children say at play, Mr. White burns here. |
e. Said
poet. or rhetorically of water: To be in violent agitation.
rare.
| 1692 Ray Disc. iii. (1732) 18 The whole Sea boiled and burned. 1728 Pope Dunc. ii. 184 His [Eridanus'] rapid waters in their passage burn. |
4. a. Of candles, lamps, etc.: To be in process of combustion so as to give light; hence, to flame, give light, shine. Also
transf. of the sun, stars, or any other luminary.
| α a 1000 Cædmon's Ex. (Gr.) 115 Heofon candel barn. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xii. 35 Sin eower lendenn begyrde & leohtfatu byrnende [950 Lindisf. bernendo; 975 Rushw. be⁓rende; 1160 Hatton bearnende]. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 47 We oȝen..on ure honde beren candele berninde. c 1300 St. Brandan 337 Hou this tapres berneth thus. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 104 This candell burnth dim. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iv. iii. 275 How ill this taper burns. 1717 Pope Eloisa 258 The torch of Venus burns not for the dead. 1871 Morley Voltaire (1886) 24 So clearly does that light burn for many even now. |
| β c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 318 Þe cerge þ{supt} stode bryngnyng þ{supt} auter by. |
| δ c 1300 St. Brandan 335 This tapres brende longe y⁓nouȝ. c 1420 Sir Amadace (1842) 29 Candils ther were brennyng toe. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 40 A lampe that brenned contynually. |
b. Of other objects: To appear as if on fire, glow with light or colour.
| 1423 Jas. I. King's Q. xlviii, A ruby..Semyt birnyng vpon hir quhyte throte. c 1435 Torr. Portugal 555 On the tayle an hed ther wase, That byrnyd bryght as anny glase. 1530 Palsgr. 460/2 His eyes burned in his heed, as lyght as a candell. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. ii. 197 The Barge she sat in, like a burnisht Throne, Burnt on the water. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 538 With feats of Arms From either end of Heaven the welkin burns. a 1718 Rowe (J.) Oh! prince, oh! wherefore burn your eyes? 1832 Tennyson Pal. Art 48 The light aërial gallery, golden-rail'd, Burnt like a fringe of fire. 1872 Black Adv. Phaeton xix. 265 The earth-banks of the railway-line burned crimson under the darkening sky. |
† c. Of the sea: To be phosphorescent.
Cf. burning vbl. n. 3.
| 1667 in Phil. Trans. II. 497 At East and South winds it [the sea] burned most. |
d. Of the engine of a spacecraft: to consume fuel and provide thrust. (
Cf. sense 2 c.)
| 1964 K. W. Gatland Spacecraft & Boosters I. 278/2 The Thor first stage burned for approximately 160 sec, propelling the vehicle to an altitude of 41 miles. 1969 Daily Tel. 8 Mar. 1/2 The ascent stage's engine will burn and place the two returning astronauts..back into orbit round the moon. |
e. Of a motor car, etc.: to travel at speed.
slang.| 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §58/5 Depart, esp. hurriedly,..burn, chase along, [etc.]. 1972 Sunday Mail (Brisbane) 11 June 2/5 In burns a police car... Out jumps a senior sergeant. |
5. a. To suffer destruction, injury, change of structure or properties from contact with fire; to be reduced
to ashes, a cinder, etc., by fire; to be scorched, charred, etc. Often said of food spoiled by too great or prolonged exposure to heat in roasting or baking.
to burn to (the inside of a vessel): to adhere to by burning; also with
to (
absol. as
adv.).
to burn away: to be gradually dissipated or consumed by burning (also
quasi-refl. to burn itself away). Sometimes with
adjs. denoting the result, as
to burn black,
brown,
hard, etc.
| α a 1225 Ancr. R. 242 Hwo ber euer fur wiðinnen hire þet heo ne bernde? 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. i. ii. 44 The Capon burnes, the Pig fals from the spit. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 10 You must take special Care that your Iron burn not in the Fire. 1709 Brit. Apollo II. No. 69. 3/2 The Pudding burnt unto the Pot. 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict. II. s.v. Syrup, Boil it [sugar] to a Caramel, and take great care it does not burn to. 1830 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. II. 267 The meat would inevitably burn, and become hard and tasteless. |
| β, δ a 1300 Cursor M. 22704 Þis midel erth..Al to noght sal brin awai. c 1440 Anc. Cookery in Househ. Ord. (1790) 439 Boyle hom togedur with esy fire, that hit brenne not. a 1520 Myrr. Our Ladye 296 A busshe al on fyre. & yet it brente not. |
† b. transf. Of crops, etc.: To be withered by the sun's heat; to suffer decay in such a manner as to present the appearance of being scorched.
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §23 If drye wether come, it [the grass] wyll drye and burne vpon the grounde, and waste away. 1750 Ellis Mod. Husbandm. II. ii. v. 42 The Crop [of turnips] would set, or what we call burn or spoil, if it was not houghed in due Time. |
6. To suffer death by fire. Now somewhat
arch., the usual modern expression being
to be burnt.
| 1600 Fairfax Tasso ii. liii. 30 With him content Was she to liue, that would with her haue brent. c 1604 J. C. in Shaks. C. Praise 63 They should all burne for their vilde heresie. 1779 Forrest Voy. N. Guinea 170 Here..women often kill themselves, or burn with their deceased husbands; but men also burn in honour of their deceased masters. 1878 Tennyson Q. Mary i. i. 7, I can't argue upon it; but I and my old woman 'ud burn upon it. |
7. to burn into (of fire, a caustic, etc.): to eat its way into (a thing or substance). Usually
fig. of an event, a conviction, etc.; to make an indelible impression upon (a person's mind).
| 1823 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Pref. (1865) 238 The impressions of infancy had burnt into him. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown Oxf. I. xvi. 318 The scenes of the last few hours..burnt into his soul. 1878 Morley Crit. Misc. Ser. i. 213 Deeply and bitterly the spectacle of this injustice burnt into his soul. |
II. Transitive senses.
*
to consume by fire.
8. a. Of fire: To destroy, consume (any combustible object). Of persons: To cause to be destroyed or consumed by fire; to set on fire, commit to the flames. Also
absol.| α c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 61 He wile smite..mid orde . and pilten and bernen. c 1205 Lay. 14000 Þurh þi lond heo ærneð & hærȝieð & berneð. 1375 Barbour Bruce xv. 438 Of his menȝhe sum send he For till burne townys twa or thre. c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) Introd. 28/2 The towne Bombassa, that they also byrned and robbed. 1535 Coverdale Rev. viii. 7 The thyrd parte of trees was burnt, and all grene grasse was brent. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. i. iii. §4 Nabonasser did burn and destroy all the antient records of the Chaldæans. 1717 Lady M. W. Montague Lett. II. xlvi. 38 This letter..you may burn it when you have read enough. a 1843 Southey Roprecht iii, They were for burning the body outright. |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 12219 Fur i wat him mai noght brin. 1375 Barbour Bruce xiii. 737 [He] brynt houss and tuk the pray. c 1400 Melayne 27 [He] Brynnede tham in a fire. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 3476 Quhen all wes brynt,—flesche, blud and bonis. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj. 94 Gif ane alledges that ane other hes brunt his house. |
| γ a 1000 Sal. & Sat. (Gr.) 412 Briceð and bærneð bold ᵹetimbru. c 1200 Ormin 1529 Þatt illke chaff þatt helle fir shall bærnenn. 1297 R. Glouc. 511 Hii barnde hous & other god, & defoulede louerd & hine. |
| δ 1154 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137. §3 Þa ræueden hi & brendon alle þe tunes. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 916 Þe brath of his breth þat brennez alle þinkez. c 1400 Destr. Troy 11931 The knightes..brentyn and betyn doun all the big houses. 1507 Bk. Gd. Mann. (W. de W.) L. ij, The Fenix is brente in the myddes of theym. 1528 More Heresyes ii. Wks. 179/1 The bookes also bee gone and loste, whan there was no law made yet to brenne them. 1657 Howell Londinop. 120 Beat them to their houses, and brent them therein. [1796 F. Leighton MS. Let. to J. Boucher Feb., I heard yesterday from a Shropshire Farmer the old verb bren and its participle brent for burn burnt.] |
b. With advbs. or complementary phrases.
to burn up: to consume entirely by burning;
fig., to irritate, to upset, to enrage (
U.S. slang.); also (
U.S. colloq.) to travel through or along at speed. Also
fig. to burn away: to consume or dissipate gradually by burning.
to burn out: to consume the contents and interior of (a building). So also
to burn to, into (formerly also in) ashes,
powder, etc.; and
to burn (a building) down,
burn to the ground.
| α c 1305 in E.E.P. (1862) 4 Þe fire sal berne vp sinful man þat haþ misdo. c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) Introd. 33/1 Thonder & lytenynge shall..bourne theym all in po[w]der. 1611 Bible Job i. 16 The fire of God..hath burnt vp the sheepe. 1858 Ld. St. Leonards Handy Bk. Prop. Law xv. 101 Although the house should be burned down, yet the tenant must continue to pay the rent. a 1887 Mod. Newspaper. The first and second floors of the front building were burned out, roofs off. 1909 Chicago Daily Tribune 21 Aug. 7/1 Barney [Oldfield] started to burn up the track and opened a big gap, leading the first lap. 1923 H. C. Witwer Fighting Blood i. 23, I certainly burnt Ajariah Stubbs up that day... I fell asleep..and I give a guy pepsin bismuth and a stiff argument, when all he says he asked for was a plain chocolate soda. 1931 D. Runyon Guys & Dolls (1932) ii. 34 Naturally this crack burns Handsome Jack up quite some. 1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) vii. 211 Ed is plenty burned up, and, my God, I don't blame him. 1935 S. Lewis It can't happen Here xiii. 124 What burns me up is the fact that..7 per cent of all the families in the country earned $500 a year or less. 1937 C. Odets Golden Boy iii. ii. 214 We'll drive through the night... That's what speed's for, an easy way to live! Lorna darling, we'll burn up the night. 1943 P. Cheyney You can always Duck ii. 39, I told him the story, an' was he burned up! |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 13237 And al to pouder þai it brint. 1548 Compl. Scot. 21 Vas it [Carthage] nocht brynt in puldir ande asse. |
| δ c 1200 Ormin 1468, & brenn itt all till asskess þær. 1382 Wyclif Lev. vi. 10 The asken, the which the fier vowrynge brent out. ― Ecclus. xlix. 8 Thei brenden vp the chosen cite of hoelynesse. 1549 Latimer Serm. bef. Edw. VI, iii. (Arb.) 98 God..brente theym all vp wyth brymstone. 1596 Spenser F.Q. i. ix. 10 The fire which them to ashes brent. 1863 Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. II. 176 It were a good job it were brenned down. |
c. Used in the imperative as an imprecation.
| 1711 Swift Lett. (1767) III. 287 The box at Chester; oh, burn that box, and hang that Sterne. 1838 Dickens O. Twist xxxix, ‘Why, burn my body!’ said the man. |
d. To spend or use freely;
esp. to have (money, etc.) to burn, to have in abundance or to spare.
orig. U.S.| 1896 Ade Artie 106 Two years ago he was on his uppers and now he's got money to burn. 1897 Congress. Rec. Mar. 400/1 Mr. Simpson:—You have plenty of time. Mr. Payne:—No; I have not got time to burn. 1904 Louisville Courier Jrnl. 2 July 5 She has..already had literary experience to burn. 1909 ‘O. Henry’ Options (1916) 76 The gentleman of the family had owned plantations and had slaves to burn. 1910 W. M. Raine B. O'Connor 39 We'll keep an eye on the gambling hells and see who is burning up money. 1911 H. Quick Yellowstone N. ix. 240 The gall of my swearing against these big men that had money to burn. 1915 ‘Ian Hay’ First Hundred Thous. xvi. 220 You will get baccy and cigarettes to burn out there. 1917 H. A. Vachell Fishpingle x, Why not? I have money to burn. 1928 Sunday Express 6 May 6 People in the States have ‘money to burn’. |
9. Specific uses of sense 8.
a. To make a burnt-offering of (incense, a victim)
to a deity. Also
absol. (with incense as implied object).
| 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xliii. 21 Thou shalt take the bullock..and burne him in a seuerall place. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 474 One [altar] of Syrian mode, whereon to burn His odious offerings. 1718 Pope Iliad i. 607 The priest..burns the offering with his holy hands. 1839 Thirlwall Greece II. 232 He burnt a great pile of precious incense on the altar. 1883 Harper's Mag. Nov. 877/2 These altruistic servants of ‘society’..burn the lamp of sacrifice before this modern shrine. |
| β a 1300 Cursor M. 1098 He to brin his tend bigan. |
| δ c 1200 Ormin 1745 Þatt recless..te bisscopp þær Be⁓forenn allterr brennde. 1382 Wyclif Lev. vi. 12 He shal brenne the talwȝ of the pesible thingis. 1526 Tindale Luke i. 9 His lott was to bren odoures. a 1556 Cranmer Wks. (Parker Soc.) I. 85 He..made him carry the same wood wherewith he should be brent. |
† b. With metonymy of the object;
to burn a country:
i.e. to set fire to all objects on the surface of the ground.
Obs. to burn the earth or wind: to go at full speed.
U.S.| c 1205 Lay. 6139 Mine kene men..al þis lond bearneð. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2646 Þei hadde luþerli here lond brend and destrued. 1470 Harding Chron. (1543) 165 Into Fiffes he went, and brent it clene. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xiii, They lete brenne and destroye alle the contrey afore them. 1571 Campion Hist. Irel. xi. vii. (1633) 94 He spoyled Arthur Mac Murrough, brent his country. [1881 G. W. Romspert Western Echo 164 The first day the mustangs will burn the prairie.] 1891 ‘O. Thanet’ Otto the Knight 219 An' we all ayfter 'im... Didn't he burn the wind, though! 1903 A. Adams Log Cowboy iii. 37, I was half a mile in the lead burning the earth like a canned dog. 1910 W. M. Raine B. O'Connor 20 So burn the wind, and go through the car on the jump. Ibid. 57 When he finds out how the horse he's after is burning the wind, his suspicions grow stronger. |
c. fig. to burn one's boats: to cut oneself off from all chance of retreat.
to burn the Thames: to perform some startling prodigy, ‘set the Thames on fire’.
to burn the mill (in allusion to letting the millstones become red-hot by friction from want of grist).
to burn one's bridges: see
bridge n.1 1 e.
| 1719 D'Urfey Pills (1719) II. 24 His Measure too so scanty, she fear'd 'twould burn her Mill. 1787 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Sir J. Banks & Emp. of Mor. 6 Whose modest wisdom..never aims To find the longitude, or burn the Thames. 1886 Manch. Guard. 23 Feb. 5 The sooner Mr. Goschen burns the boats in which he quitted the shores of Opposition, etc. |
10. To put to death by fire,
esp. as a judicial punishment. Now often
to burn alive,
burn to death.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 21235 Barnabas..bath for-draun and brint [v.r. brend] wit feir. 1547 Homilies i. Faith ii. (1859) 41 Some have been..beheaded, some brent without mercy. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 5103 Sum hangit..Sum brynt; sum soddin in to leiddis. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iv. 33 O burne her, burne her, hanging is too good. 1635 E. Pagitt Christianogr. iii. (1636) 112 He was brent for an hereticke. 1685 Lond. Gaz. No. 2080/4 Elizabeth Gaunt likewise Convicted of High Treason was burnt at Tyburn. 1753 Scots Mag. Apr. 200/2 Anne Williams was burnt at a stake at Gloucester, Apr. 13, for poisoning her husband. 1855 Browning Heretic's Trag., Men & Wom. ii. 199 They bring him now to be burned alive. |
11. a. To consume for artificial warming or lighting; to keep (a candle, a lamp) alight.
| 1712 Addison Spect. No. 488 ¶3 Let a family burn but a candle a-night less. 1866 Wilson Chem. 128 Fuel of any kind should never be burned in rooms, unless in fireplaces provided with chimneys. Mod. I do not burn gas in my bedroom. |
¶ Phys. Sometimes used for: To consume by oxidation with evolution of heat (
cf. 2
¶ ).
| Mod. A large portion of our food does not go to form tissue, but is simply burnt as fuel for the production of heat. |
b. In
fig. phrases:
to burn daylight: to burn candles in the daytime, also to waste or consume the daylight. So
† to burn seasonable weather: to fail to turn it to advantage, consume, waste (
obs.).
to burn the (or one's) candle at both ends; see
candle.
| 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. iv. 43 (Qo. 1) Merc. We burne daylight here. Rom. Nay thats not so. Merc. I meane sir in delay, We burne our lights by night, like Lampes by day. 1618 Raleigh Son to Father in Rem. (1661) 120 It is a strange piece of Art..to lie idely at the road, burning so seasonable weather. c 1620 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 92 Why burne wee day light? wee have time and place. a 1643 W. Cartwright Ordinary i. ii. (D.) Her nose the candle..Put out your nose, good lady, you burn daylight. 1682 N. O. Boileau's Lutrin iii. 100 They burn the day in game, and sport the faster. 1738 Swift Polite Conv. iii. (D) No candles yet..don't let us burn daylight. 1820 Scott Ivanhoe xliii, Burn not daylight about it; we have short time to spare. |
† c. fig. to burn it blue: ? to act outrageously.
Obs. slang. (See
blue.)
| 1731 Swift Strephon & Ch. Wks. 1755 IV. i. 153 Miss Moll the jade will burn it blue. |
12. fig. a. To inflame with desire, love, passion, etc.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4315 First to brin [v.r. bren] þin hert wit-in. 1513 Douglas æneis i. x. 11 Of cruell Juno the dreid brynt hir inwart. a 1528 Skelton Bk. Fooles i. 202 Thou brennest the desyres. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 333 With two fair Eyes his Mistress burns his Breast. |
b. To anger, infuriate, or incense.
U.S. slang.| 1935 G. & S. Lorimer Heart Specialist v. 144 ‘The way I feel now I wish I could..retire for the rest of my life.’ ‘Well, wouldn't that burn you!’ Davy howled. 1940 J. O'Hara Pal Joey 37, I was plenty burned. 1967 L. J. Braun Cat who ate Danish Modern iii. 32 That burns me... A man like Tait can squander millions on teapots, and I have trouble paying my milk bill. 1977 Amer. Speech 1975 L. 56 She burned her date by going home with Bill. 1986 New Yorker 26 May 98/2 George Schultz..continues to resent Syria's backing off from a peace agreement with Israel...‘George still feels burned by that’, one of his friends says. |
**
to affect by burning.
13. a. Of fire, or any heating agency: To produce the characteristic effects of combustion upon; to calcine, char, scorch, discolour, or mark by burning; to spoil food in cooking from such a cause; to alter in chemical composition (by oxidation, volatilization of a constituent, etc.), or in appearance, physical structure or properties, by intense heat. (Not used when the effect is merely that of melting or softening.) Of persons: To expose (something) to the action of fire so as to produce these results;
esp. to treat with fire for a specific purpose,
e.g. to burn wood (for charcoal),
clay (for bricks or pottery),
the soil (as an agricultural process). Also with
adjs. denoting the result, as
to burn hard,
burn red,
burn black,
burn clean.
| 1519 Interl. Elem. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 31 Great riches might come thereby, Both pitch and tar, and soap ashes..By brenning thereof only. 1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. viii. §1 (1681) 146 If your land be cold..the best way is..to burn it. 1719 D'Urfey Pills V. 142 'Till Pudding and Dumpling are burnt to Pot. 1726 Lond. Gaz. No. 6438/2 Supposed to be employed in burning Ground in Nottinghamshire. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. II. 25 When bones are burned in the open fire, the animal matter..disappears. Ibid. 186 It is difficult to burn the earth. |
b. Hence, To produce (charcoal, bricks, lime, etc.) by burning.
| 1205 Lay. 15466 Lim heo gunnen bærnen. 1635 J. Babington Pyrotechn. 7 Take good dry coale, well burnt, and beat it to dust. 1663 Gerbier Counsel D ij a, To burn more Lime in twenty four hours time. 1716 Lond. Gaz. No. 5446/9 All [bricks?] that are samel, or under burnt, to be excluded. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. ix. 146 These [earthen vessels] I burnt in the fire. 1727 ― Eng. Tradesm. iii. (1841) I. 20 The bricks would not be so good..when they were burnt. |
c. to burn (metals) together: to join them by melting their adjacent edges, or heating the adjacent edges and running some molten metal of the same kind into the intermediate space.
to burn on: to add (a part) to an injured or incomplete casting by running in a stream of molten metal.
| 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Terms Mech. Engin. 53 A sand mould of the portion to be burned on is made and placed in proper juxtaposition to the old casting in the bed of the foundry floor. |
d. transf. To produce on (anything) an effect resembling that of burning;
e.g. (of the sun) to wither, dry up (vegetation), to parch, dry up (the ground); to freckle, embrown, or discolour (the skin),
cf. sunburnt. Sometimes said of cold, and of certain manures and crops, to express their effect on vegetation or on the soil.
† poet. Of cattle:
to burn (the ground) bare: to crop it close.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 6025 Haile and fir was menged samen..þe gresse it brint. c 1374 Chaucer Compl. Mars 88 Phebus cam to bren [v.r. birn] hem with his hete. c 1425 Three Kings Cologne 44 Hit wexeþ liche eerys of corn þat were brent with þe wedir. c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) Introd. 29/2 Lest that the soon shuld burne hym. 1591 Spenser Bellay's Ruines of R. xvii, Scortching sunne had brent His wings. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 527 Vines also are burned therewithal [swine's dung]. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 271 Goats..graze the Field, and burn it bare. |
e. fig. to burn the planks: to remain long sitting.
| 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. (1858) 208 Sit obstinately burning the planks. |
f. to burn off: to clear (land) for cultivation by burning the vegetation; to burn dry or rank vegetation (tussock, etc.). Also
absol. (
Cf. burn n.3 1 b and
burning vbl. n. 8 a and e.)
N. Amer.,
Austral., and
N.Z.| 1843 C. A. Dillon Let. 16 Jan. (1954) 17 The fern was all burnt off by the surveyors. 1852 S. Moodie Roughing It 90 Moodie and Jacob had chopped eight acres during the winter, but these had to be burnt off and logged-up before we could put in a crop of wheat. 1860 G. Duppa in S. S. Crawford Sheep & Sheepmen of Canterbury (1949) v. 46 Burn off portions of the run for winter feed to destroy tuft grass. 1932 K. S. Prichard in Murdoch & Drake-Brockman Austral. Short Stories (1951) 189 He cleared and grubbed, burnt off, and cultivated his land. 1959 A. McLintock Descr. Atlas N.Z. 39/1 The Maoris had long been aware that much of the bush country was more fertile [than the open country], for they burned off patches for cultivation. 1966 ‘J. Hackston’ Father clears Out 87 The men started burning off opposite and the heavy clouds of smoke hid the tree for a while. |
g. To vulcanize (india-rubber) by mixing it with sulphur or metallic sulphides and heating it.
| 1900 Sadtler Handbk. Indust. Chem. (ed. 3) 106 In vulcanizing by the first process, that of ‘burning’, as it is termed, the crude caoutchouc is mixed with varying amounts of sulphur. |
h. To utilize the nuclear energy of (uranium, etc.).
| 1946 Rep. Internat. Control Atomic Energy (Dept. of State, U.S.) iii. i. 35 Such power reactors would ‘burn’ the active materials and require replenishing from time to time. 1949 Britannica Bk. Year 1948 686/2 Burn, to utilize the atomic energy of (nuclear fuel). 1957 Encycl. Brit. II. 649/2 Some losses could be tolerated and still leave a neutron to initiate another fission of uranium, thus producing a chain reaction which would continue to burn uranium. Ibid. 651/2 It is also possible to burn plutonium in the presence of U-238 and make more plutonium. 1962 Newnes Concise Encycl. Nuclear Energy 278/1 To achieve power balance, it is necessary also that at least about 1 per cent of the fuel is ‘burned’ before being lost from the system. |
14. a. To wound or to cause pain to (a person, animal, or part of the body) by the contact of fire or of something intensely heated: said both of the fire or heated body itself, and of the person who applies it. Often
refl. (of persons, with approach to the passive sense); also in expressions such as
to burn one's fingers,
burn one's foot = to suffer injury in those members by burning. Also
absol.| a 1300 Cursor M. 7224 Man aght to dred þe brand þat brint [v.r. brende] him forwit in his hand. 1382 Wyclif Isa. xliii. 2 Whan thou shalt go in fyr, thou shalt not be brent. a 1420 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2382 He that is brent, men seithe, dredethe the fire. a 1520 Myrr. Our Ladye 43 Y{supt} brennyth hym, and woundeth hym so sore. 1596 Drayton Leg. ii. 280 Warm'd with the Fire, that unawares might burne Mee. 1713 Berkeley Hylas & P. i. Wks. 1871 I. 270 When a coal burns your finger. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 28 The power of heat to burn. |
b. In
fig. phrase,
to burn one's (own) fingers: to sustain damage through meddling with something; rarely
to burn (another's) fingers.
| 1710 Palmer Proverbs 356 The busiebody burns his own fingers. 1713 Guardian No. 108, I do not care for burning my fingers in a quarrel. 1865 Holland Plain T. iv. 126 Strove to overreach each other, and burn the fingers of unsuspicious outsiders. 1877 Punch 26 May 130 Without burning its fingers with Clerical Fellowships, etc. |
c. To cauterize, as a surgical operation; to brand with the mark of a criminal.
to burn out: to destroy (the eyes, etc.) by burning.
| 1483 Cath. Angl. 32 To Birne with yrne; cauteriare, incauteriare. 1486 Bk. St. Albans C. vj b, Brynne the narellis [of a hawk] thourogh owte. 1570–87 Holinshed Scot. Chron. (1806) II. 203 Him that is brunt in the hand. 1595 Shakes. John iv. i. 59 These eyes..with hot Irons must I burne them out. 1655 Baxter Quaker's Catech. 3, I dare no more accuse them..for persecution who shall burn a Thief in the hand. 1715 Lond. Gaz. No. 5329/4 He..was burnt in the Hand last Assizes at Worcester. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 128 Transported felons..burnt in the hand. |
d. transf. Said of a caustic, acrid, or irritating substance (as vitriol, a blister, etc.); sometimes of intense cold, the effect produced by which resembles that caused by burning: To wound or cause local pain to, in a manner resembling the effect of contact with fire. Also
absol.| 1509 Fisher Wks. i. (E.E.T.) 31 Teres..shall scalde and brenne our bodyes. 1562 Turner Baths 6 b, If any entring into the bath..thynke..that he is burned. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 212 The snow burneth the Dogs nose. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 595 The parching air Burns frore, and cold performs th' effect of Fire. 1696 Lond. Gaz. No. 3240/4 His face burnt or scalded by some Humor. 1865 J. H. Newman Gerontius Ice which blisters may be said to burn. |
† e. To infect with sores;
esp. with venereal disease.
Cf. 3 b.
Obs.| 1529 S. Fish Supplic. Begg. (Arb.) 7 These be they..that be brent wyth one woman, and bere it to another. c 1556 Bale in Chambers Cycl. s.v. Burning, He [leacherous Weston] not long ago brent a beggar of St. Botolphs parish. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iii. 58 Light wenches will burne, come not neere her. |
f. To swindle. (See
Sc. Nat. Dict.)
In
quot. 1655 the sense may be ‘to suffer’.
| 1655 R. Baillie Let. (1842) III. 290 Our people were so ill-burnt, that they had no stomach for any farder medling. [a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Burnt the Town, when the Soldiers leave the Place without paying their Quarters.] 1808 Jamieson, Burn, to deceive, to cheat in a bargain. 1844 Philad. Spirit of Times 19 Aug. (Th.), Two negro burners were arrested in the act of trying to burn two Pottsville boatmen with a plated chain worth about fifteen cents. 1926 J. Black You can't Win ix. 106 If you'd burnt Shorty for his end of that coin, you'd have been here just the same. 1969 Sunday Truth (Brisbane) 16 Mar. 39/2, I figured I'd burn the guy for a thousand. |
15. To drive (a person or animal)
out of a place by heat, or by the burning of his dwelling. Phrase,
to burn out of house and home.
| 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4702/3 [He] was formerly burnt out of the Fountain Tavern in the Strand. 1780 Pitt in Earl Stanhope Life (1861) I. 43 Thanks to the sun..I was burnt out of my bed this morning before seven o'clock. 1851 C. Cist Cincinnati 250 Henry Albro, who was burnt out some months since, on Front street, has recently put up new veneer and saw mills. a 1861 T. Winthrop John Brent (1883) i. 7 They had been burnt out, they had been cleaned out, they had been drowned out. |
16. To make (a mark)
on or
in, (a hole)
in or
through, anything, by burning. Also
fig. to make (a recollection, a conviction) indelible
in a person's mind.
to burn in: to render indelible (the painting upon pottery, etc.) by exposure to fire.
to burn a hole in one's pocket.
| a 1840 Moore in Sheridaniana 61 They [some verses] bear, burnt into every line, the marks of personal feeling. 1857 Trollope Three Clerks II. ix. 198 How was she to give him the purse? It was burning a hole in her pocket till she could do so. 1860 Gosse Rom. Nat. Hist. 172 A power which..burnt-in the image of each in his remembrance. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola i. xvii. (1880) I. 244 Her brother's words..had burnt themselves into her memory. c 1865 J. Wylde in Circ. Sc. I. 389/1 They are ‘burnt in’ on the surface of the ware. 1883 Harper's Mag. Mar. 538/1 Cash burning holes in our pockets. |
17. to burn the water: to spear salmon by torchlight. Also,
to burn a bowl,
burn a curling stone, etc.: to displace it accidentally.
| 1805 Skene in Lockhart Scott (1839) II. 265 This amusement of burning the water..was not without some hazard. 1884 Pall Mall G. 19 Aug. 5/1 Water-bailiffs are sent up the rivers at certain times to prevent ‘burning the water’. |
18. to burn out: to fuse by means of an electric current.
Cf. burn-out b,
s.v. burn- 3.
| 1924 Discovery June 83/2 The Germans were using some objectionable form of frightfulness that burnt out the magnetos of French planes flying across German zones. |
19. slang. To smoke (tobacco).
Cf. burn n.3 1 e.
| 1929 F. C. Bowen Sea Slang 20 Burning, smoking in the training ships. 1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights iii. 82 The more [tobacco] we got the more we used to burn. |
☛
Phrase-key:—To
burn alive, 10;
b away, 5, 8 b;
b black, 5, 13;
b blue, 2 c;
b boats, 9 c;
b a bowl, 17;
b the breast, 12;
b bricks, 13 b;
b brown, 5;
b a candle, 4, 11;
b candle at both ends, 11 b;
b charcoal, 13 b;
b clay, 13;
b a country, 9 b;
b a curling-stone, 17;
b daylight, 11 b;
b down, 2 c, 8 b; ears
b, 3;
b one's fingers, 14, 14 b;
b forth, 2 c;
b ground, 13;
b hard, 5, 13; horse
b, 3 b;
b in, 16;
b incense, 9;
b into, 7, 16;
b into ashes, 8 b;
b it blue, 11 c;
b lamp, 4, 11;
b lime, 13 b;
b low, 2 c;
b the mill, 9 c;
b offering, 9;
b out, 2 c, 8 b, 14 c, 15;
b the planks, 13 e;
b one's pocket, 3 c;
b red, 2 c, 13; sea
b, 4 c;
b seasonable weather, 11 b;
b soil, 13;
b the Thames, 9 c;
b to, 5;
b to ashes, 8 b;
b to death, 10;
b to the ground, 8 b;
b together, 13 c;
b up, 2 c, 8 b;
b the water, 17;
b wood, 13.
▸
Electronics.
trans. To write (data)
to or
on to a CD or DVD by means of a laser device; to produce (a disc) in this way.
| [1976 Christian Sci. Monitor 5 May 21/3 The latest variant of this type of recording system has been developed by Prof. John Locke of the University of Toronto. His method uses a laser to burn tiny pits in a spinning plastic disk.] 1982 Computerworld 29 Sept. 75 When images have been ‘burnt’, or, more accurately, punched onto the optical disks, they cannot be erased. 1998 Independent 12 Oct. i. 6/6 ‘Burning’ a CD to the customer's demands puts the company, and the artists, in full control. 2004 Boys Toys July 104 Just import your footage or photos, edit them onboard, and burn the results to DVD. |
▪ V. † burn, v.2 Obs. 5
boorn-,
born-,
bourn-en. Chiefly in
pa. pple. burned: see
burned ppl. a.
2 [a. OF. burnir, var. of brunir to burnish, originally to brown, f. brun brown.] = burnish v.
1| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 327 (Harl. MS. 1239) Al feynith he in lust that he sojournith, And al his speech and chere he bournith [Harl. MS. 3943 vnournith]. 1393 Gower Conf. II. 231 An harneis..which burned was as silver bright. c 1430 Lydg. Bochas iv. ii. (1554) 112 a, A chaire..of gold boorned bryght. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 44 Bormyn or pulchyn [v.r. bornyn, boornyn], polio. |
▪ VI. burn(e variant of
berne,
Obs., a man.