Definition of BURLY

burly

Meanings

Adjective Satellite

  • muscular and heavily built
    • "had a tall burly frame"

Adj

  • Large, well-built, and muscular.
  • Great, amazing, unbelievable.
  • Of large magnitude, either good or bad, and sometimes both.
  • Full of burls or knots; knotty.

Origin / Etymology

From 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.

Scrabble Score: 10

burly is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
burly is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
burly is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

burly is a valid Words With Friends word