burglar

B1 Topic:People & Society

US /ˈbɝɡlɚ/ UK /ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/ See IPA manual

Freq #8906

Meanings

1

noun
A person who breaks into a building in order to steal.

A burglar broke in through the kitchen window last night.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who breaks into a... housebreaker

Word family

Forms burglars

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

burglar alarm
a device that gives a warning when someone breaks into a building

Noun + noun

Etymology

16th century, from Medieval Latin burglātor, British byform of burgātor (“burglar”), derived from burgō (“to commit burglary”), from Late Latin burgus (“fortified town”), itself probably from Frankish *burg (“fortress”), from Proto-Germanic *burgz, *burgiją (“borough, watch-tower”). The -l- in burglātor may have been inserted under influence from Latin latro (“thief”). The shortened English form may have arisen through confluence with Old French burgeor (“burglar”), itself from the same Latin source.

*bʰerǵʰ- Proto-Indo-European burglātor la-med burgus la-lat *burg frk *burgz Proto-Germanic burgeor Old French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society

External links

# burglar

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɝɡlɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɜːɡlə(ɹ)/
**Frequency rank:** 8906

## Meanings
1. A person who breaks into a building in order to steal.

## Examples
- A burglar broke in through the kitchen window last night.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰerǵʰ-
- Root: burglātor
- Root: burgus
- Root: *burg
- Root: *burgz
- Root: burgeor

## Etymology
16th century, from Medieval Latin burglātor, British byform of burgātor (“burglar”), derived from burgō (“to commit burglary”), from Late Latin burgus (“fortified town”), itself probably from Frankish *burg (“fortress”), from Proto-Germanic *burgz, *burgiją (“borough, watch-tower”). The -l- in burglātor may have been inserted under influence from Latin latro (“thief”). The shortened English form may have arisen through confluence with Old French burgeor (“burglar”), itself from the same Latin source.

## AI Etymology
Burglar is attested from the 16th century, from Medieval Latin burglātor, British byform of burgātor (“burglar”), derived from burgō (“to commit burglary”), from Late Latin burgus (“fortified town”), itself probably from Frankish *burg (“fortress”), from Proto-Germanic *burgz, *burgiją (“borough, watch-tower”). The -l- in burglātor may have been inserted under influence from Latin latro (“thief”). The shortened English form may have arisen through confluence with Old French burgeor (“burglar”), itself from the same Latin source.

## Topics
- People & Society

markdown