Buro
/ˈbjʊə.rəʊ/noun
A bureau or administrative office, especially in South African English.
Did you know?The ancestor of buro originally referred to a dark, coarse woolen fabric used to cover writing desks, which helped the word come to mean the desk itself and eventually an office.
Etymological Timeline
Late Latin
Latin
burrus
“Reddish or russet-colored”
Medieval period
Old French
bure
“Coarse woolen cloth, often brownish in color”
13th–14th Century
Old French
bureau
“A writing desk covered with bure cloth”
17th Century
French
bureau
“A writing desk, then an office or administrative department”
18th–19th Century
Afrikaans/Dutch
buro
“An office or bureau”
Modern English
English
buro
“An office or administrative organization, especially in South African usage”