burglar

pronunciation

How to pronounce burglar in British English: UK [ˈbɜːɡlə(r)]word uk audio image

How to pronounce burglar in American English: US [ˈbɜːrɡlər] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    a thief who enters a building with intent to steal

Word Origin

burglar
burglar: [15] The first trace we have of burglar is as burgulator in 13th-century Anglo-Latin texts, and it appears in Anglo-Norman legal documents of the 15th century as burgler. These point to an unrecorded medieval Latin base *burg- ‘plunder’, which appears in Old French burgur ‘robber’. The verb burgle is a 19thcentury back-formation from burglar.
burglar (n.)
1540s, shortened from Anglo-Latin burglator (late 13c.), earlier burgator, from Medieval Latin burgator "burglar," from burgare "to break open, commit burglary," from Latin burgus "fortress, castle," a Germanic loan-word akin to borough. The intrusive -l- is perhaps from influence of Latin latro "thief" (see larceny). The native word, Old English burgh-breche, might have influenced the word.

Example

1. Eg. did a burglar break into your house last night ?
2. The burglar alarm was activated by mistake .
3. What do we actually doif we see a burglar ?
4. The burglar crept through the house .
5. The man glanced the burglar climbing out of the window .

more: >How to Use "burglar" with Example Sentences