/ˈbɜːli/, /bɝli/, /bʌrle/
OriginFrom Middle English burly, burely, borly, burlich, borlich, borlic (“tall, stately”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots burely, burly (“rough, stout, sturdy, strong”). Perhaps from Old English *būrlīċ (“noble, stately”, literally “bowerly”), equivalent to bower + -ly; or from Old English *byrlīċ (“high, raised”), from byre (“raised area, mound”), cognate with Old High German burlīh, purlīh (“lofty, elevated, high, exalted”), related to Old High German burjan (“to raise, lift, push up”), English burgeon. However, Irish burla (“bundle, pack; burly person”) points to a different origin.
- usuallyLarge, well-built, and muscular.
“He’s a big, burly rugby player who works as a landscape gardener.”
“With no great disparity between them in point of years, they were, in every other respect, as unlike and far removed from each other as two men could well be. The one was soft-spoken, delicately made,”
“She was frankly disappointed. For some reason she had expected to discover a burglar of one or another accepted type—either a dashing cracksman in full-blown evening dress, lithe, polished, pantherish”
- British, slangGreat, amazing, unbelievable.
“That goal was burly.”
“Kimi Räikkönen is a burly Formula 1 driver.”
- US, slangOf large magnitude, either good or bad, and sometimes both.
“That wave was burly! (i.e. large, dangerous and difficult to ride)”
“This hike is going to be burly, but worth it because there is good body surfing at that beach.”
- Full of burls or knots; knotty.
Formsburlier(comparative) · burliest(superlative) · bowerly(alternative) · more burly(comparative) · most burly(superlative)