Burel
/ˈbjʊərəl/noun
A coarse woolen cloth, traditionally often brown or undyed.
Did you know?The word’s cloth ancestry survives in “bureau”: medieval writing desks were named for the coarse fabric originally draped over them.
Etymological Timeline
Late Antiquity
Late Latin
burra
“A shaggy garment or coarse woolen cloth”
Medieval Latin
Latin
bura
“Coarse woolen fabric”
12th–13th Century
Old French
bure
“A coarse, usually brown woolen cloth”
13th–14th Century
Old French
burel
“A small piece or type of coarse cloth; a diminutive of bure”
Middle English
English
burel
“Coarse woolen cloth”
Modern English
English
burel
“An obsolete or specialized term for coarse woolen fabric”
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