burly

bur·ly

Use burly in a sentence

This man is burly.

adjective

The definition of burly is big, strong and rough.

An example of a burly person is a muscular lumberjack.

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"burly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/burly>.

APA Style

burly. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/burly

burly

adjective

-·lier, -·li·est

big and strong; heavy and muscular
rough and hearty in manner; bluff

Origin of burly

Middle English borlich, excellent, noble, handsome, altered (? by associated, association with bour, bower) from Old English borlice, very, excellently

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"burly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/burly>.

APA Style

burly. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/burly

burly

adjective

bur·li·er, bur·li·est

Heavy, strong, and muscular; husky. See Synonyms at muscular.

Origin of burly

Middle English burlich from Old English borlic excellent ; see bher-¹ in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

bur′li·ly
adverb

bur′li·ness
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"burly." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 22 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/burly>.

APA Style

burly. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22nd, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/burly

Adjective

(comparative burlier, superlative burliest)

(usually of a man) Large, well-built, and muscular.
He's a big, burly rugby player who works as a landscape gardener.
(slang) Originating from the east end of London, England. An expressive term to mean something is good, awesome, amazing, unbelievable. e.g That goal was burly, or Räikkönen is a burly Formula 1 driver.
(slang) Originating from surfer culture and/or Southern California. An expressive term to mean something is of large magnitude, either good or bad, and sometimes both. e.g. "That wave was burly!" (meaning it was large, dangerous and difficult to ride). "This hike is going to be burly, but worth it because there is good body surfing at that beach." (meaning the hike is going to be hard work).

Origin

From Middle English burly, burely, borly, burlich, borlich, borlic (“tall, stately”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots burely, burly (“rough, stout, sturdy, strong”). Perhaps from Old English *būrlīċ (“noble, stately”, literally “bowerly”), equivalent to bower +‎ -ly; or from Old English *byrlīċ (“high, raised”), from byre (“raised area, mound”), cognate with Old High German burlīh, purlīh (“lofty, elevated, high, exalted”), related to Old High German burjan (“to raise, lift, push up”). See burgeon.