Middle English Dictionary Entry
burre n.(2)
Entry Info
| Forms | burre n.(2) ?Pl. burris. |
| Etymology | OF bourre. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
?Naut. cotton or wool waste used for packing or caulking joints; [second quot. may represent a different word -- something bought by the piece and requiring transport.]
Associated quotations
- (1296) Newcastle Galley in Archaeol.Ael.4.2163 : In ij petris de Burre emptis de Thoma Palmer, et quatuor petris de Wyldyng emptis de vxore Andree Skaket xx.d.
- (1428) *Chamberl.R.Winch. : Et de ii s. i d. pro vi peciis de Burrys cum cariagio earundem.
Supplemental Materials (draft)
Note: Sandahl, ME Sea Terms 1, p. 175, glosses the Newcastle Galley example as 'flocks, refuse of wool or cotton used for padding,' adopted from OF bourre (ult. Low Latin burra). He compares MED burle n. ('knot in wool'); = OED burl n.(1). Note that AND (s.v. burre (2), cites the Newcastle Galley example as French.