What is "burr"

Bur \Bur\, Burr \Burr\ (b[^u]r), n. [OE. burre burdock; cf. Dan. borre, OSw. borra, burdock, thistle; perh. akin to E. bristle (burr- for burz-), or perh. to F. bourre hair, wool, stuff; also, according to Cotgrave, ``the downe, or hairie coat, wherewith divers herbes, fruits, and flowers, are covered,'' fr. L. burrae trifles, LL. reburrus rough.]

1. (Bot.) Any rough or prickly envelope of the seeds of plants, whether a pericarp, a persistent calyx, or an involucre, as of the chestnut and burdock; a seed vessel having hooks or prickles. Also, any weed which bears burs.

   Amongst rude burs and thistles.
   --Milton.

   Bur and brake and brier.
   --Tennyson.

2. The thin ridge left by a tool in cutting or shaping metal. See Burr, n., 2.

3. A ring of iron on a lance or spear. See Burr, n.,

4. 4. The lobe of the ear. See Burr, n.,

5. 5. The sweetbread.

6. A clinker; a partially vitrified brick.

7. (Mech.)

   1. A small circular saw.

   2. A triangular chisel.

   3. A drill with a serrated head larger than the shank; -- especially a small drill bit used by dentists.

8. [Cf. Gael. borr, borra, a knob, bunch.] (Zo["o]l.) The round knob of an antler next to a deer's head. [Commonly written burr.]

   Bur oak (Bot.), a useful and ornamental species of oak ( Quercus macrocarpa) with ovoid acorns inclosed in deep cups imbricated with pointed scales. It grows in the Middle and Western United States, and its wood is tough, close-grained, and durable.

   Bur reed (Bot.), a plant of the genus Sparganium, having long ribbonlike leaves.

"rough sound of the letter -r-" (especially that common in Northumberland), 1760, later extended to "northern accented speech" in general. Possibly the sound of the word is imitative of the speech peculiarity itself, or it was adapted from one of the senses of bur (q.v.), perhaps from the phrase to have a bur in (one's) throat (late 14c.), which was a figure of speech for "feel a choking sensation, huskiness." OED says the Scottish -r- is a lingual trill, not a true burr.

Etymology 1 n. 1 A sharp, pointy object, such as a sliver or splinter. 2 A bur; a seed pod with sharp features that stick in fur or clothing. 3 A small piece of material left on an edge after a cutting operation. 4 A thin flat piece of metal, formed from a sheet by punching; a small washer put on the end of a rivet before it is swaged down. 5 A broad iron ring on a tilting lance just below the grip, to prevent the hand from slipping. 6 The earlobe. 7 The knot at the bottom of an antler. Etymology 2

n. 1 A rough humming sound. 2 A rolled "r". vb. 1 (context transitive English) To pronounce with a rolled "r". 2 (context intransitive English) To make a rough humming sound. Etymology 3

n. (context obsolete English) A metal ring at the top of the hand-rest on a spear. Etymology 4

n. (context British English) (alternative spelling of burl English)

1. n. seed vessel having hooks or prickles [syn: bur]

2. rough projection left on a workpiece after drilling or cutting

3. United States politician who served as Vice President under Jefferson; he mortally wounded his political rival Alexander Hamilton in a duel and fled south (1756-1836) [syn: Aaron Burr]

4. rotary file for smoothing rough edges left on a workpiece

5. small bit used in dentistry or surgery [syn: bur]

v. remove the burrs from [syn: bur]

Burr may refer to:

Burr (1973), by Gore Vidal, is a historical novel that challenges the traditional founding-fathers iconography of United States history, by means of a narrative that includes a fictional memoir, by Aaron Burr, in representing the people, politics, and events of the U.S. in the early nineteenth century.

In the careers of his life, Aaron Burr was the third Vice President of the United States (1801–05), an officer in the Continental Army, during the American War of Independence (1775–83), a lawyer (1782), and a United States Senator from the State of New York (1791–97). In consequence to political and personal enmity, while he was Vice President, Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel on 11 July 1804. After public life, he was embroiled in the Burr Plot (1807), and was acquitted of treason against the United States; then, in Europe, he failed to obtain Napoleonic military aid to conquer Spanish Florida. In 1812, Burr returned to the United States, and practiced law in New York City, until his death in 1836.

Burr is the first book of the seven-novel series, Narratives of Empire, with which Gore Vidal examined, explored, and explained the imperial history of the United States; chronologically, the six other historical novels of the series are Lincoln (1984), 1876 (1976), Empire (1987), Hollywood (1990), Washington, D.C. (1967), and The Golden Age (2000).

Burrs (sometimes called rotary files) are small cutting tools used in die grinders, rotary tools, or dental drills. The name may be considered appropriate when their small-sized head (3 mm diameter shaft) is compared to a bur (fruit seed with hooks) or their teeth are compared to a metal burr.

Burrs are a rotary analog to files that cut linearly (hence their alternate name, rotary files). They are also in many ways comparable to endmills and to router bits; a distinction is that the latter usually have their toolpath controlled by the machine, whereas burrs are often used freehand. However, there is substantial overlap in the use and toolpath control of these various classes of cutters, and in the outcomes accomplished with them. For example, endmills can be used in routers, and burrs can be used like endmills in milling by CNC or manual machine tools. In fact, burrs (the tools) are often used in CNC machining centers for removing burrs (the small flakes of metal) after a machining process.

To maintain the correct surface speed and cutting conditions, burrs are rotated at high speed (thousands or tens of thousands of RPM; often the top speed available on a given spindle). The cutters shown in the image are made from tungsten carbide, which allows them to run at higher speeds than similar HSS cutters, yet still maintain their cutting edges.

Because the cutting edges are so small, they can often be touched when spinning by a finger without cutting the skin, which flexes out of the way, although it would not be safe to pinch or grip them from two sides. Hard metal or ceramic workpieces cannot flex beyond the cutting edges, so the tools remove material from them. This characteristic makes them suitable for dentistry, as the tool will grind the hard enamel of teeth, yet leaves soft mouth tissues unharmed if the tool should erroneously touch them.

Category:Metalworking cutting tools

A burr is a raised edge or small piece of material remaining attached to a workpiece after a modification process.

It is usually an unwanted piece of material and is removed with a deburring tool in a process called 'deburring'. Burrs are most commonly created by machining operations, such as grinding, drilling, milling, engraving or turning. It may be present in the form of a fine wire on the edge of a freshly sharpened tool or as a raised portion of a surface; this type of burr is commonly formed when a hammer strikes a surface. Deburring accounts for a significant portion of manufacturing costs.

In the printmaking technique of drypoint, burr, which gives a rich fuzzy quality to the engraved line, is highly desirable—the great problem with the drypoint medium is that the burr rapidly diminishes after as few as ten impressions are printed.

Burr is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Aaron Burr (1756–1836), U.S. vice president
• Aaron Burr, Sr. 1716-1757), American Presbyterian minister and college educator
• Albert G. Burr (1829–1882), American politician
• Benjamin Burr (1818-1894), American politician
• Bill Burr (born 1968), American stand-up comedian
• Chandler Burr (born 1963), American journalist and author
• Clive Burr (1957–2013), English drummer
• George Elbert Burr (1859–1939), American painter and printmaker
• George Lincoln Burr (1857–1938), American historian
• Harold Saxton Burr (1889–1973), American anatomist
• Jeff Burr (born 1963), American movie actor, scenarist and producer
• John Burr (1831–1893), Scottish painter
• Lachlan Burr (born 1992), Australian Rugby League player
• Raymond Burr (1917–1993), Canadian-American actor
• Richard Burr (born 1955), U.S. senator from North Carolina
• Robert N. Burr (1916-2014), American historian.
• Shawn Burr (1966–2013), Canadian ice hockey player
• Thomas Burr (1813–1866), Deputy Surveyor General of South Australia 1839–46
• Theodore Burr (1771–1822/24), American inventor of the Burr Truss

Burr is a masculine given name which may refer to the following people:

• Burr Baldwin (1922-2007), American college and professional football player
• Burr Caswell (1807–1896), American frontiersman
• Burr Chamberlain (1877–1933), American college football player and head coach
• Burr DeBenning (1936–2003), American character actor
• Burr H. Duval (1809–1836), the commander of the Kentucky Mustangs, a volunteer unit which fought in the Texas Revolution
• Burr Harrison (1904-1973), American politician
• Burr W. Jones (1846–1935), American politician, jurist and lawyer
• Burr McIntosh (1862–1942), American lecturer, photographer, film studio owner, silent film actor, author, publisher of Burr McIntosh Monthly, reporter and a pioneer in the early film and radio business
• Burr Plato (c. 1844-1905), escaped African-American slave and Canadian politician
• Burr Shafer (1899–1965), American cartoonist
• Burr Steers (born 1965), American actor, screenwriter and director, nephew of writer Gore Vidal
• Burr Tillstrom (1917-1985), American puppeteer, creator and sole puppeteer of the television show Kukla, Fran and Ollie
• Burr Williams (1909–1981), American National Hockey League player