burlap

CEFRC2

/ˈbɝlæp/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A rough brown cloth made from plant fibers.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    To wrap or cover in burlap.

Examples

  • The indie coffee brand sells its roasted beans in small burlap sacks.

  • Tom was carrying something in a burlap sack.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1
Synonyms
2

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A very strong, coarse cloth, made from jute, flax, or hemp, and used to make sacks, etc.

More examples

In context

  • “A ranger responded and found two whole chickens in a burlap sack in a hot spring,” she said. A cooking pot was also found nearby.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The gardener wrapped the roots in a piece of blank before planting.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Uncertain. Attested since about 1695 in the spelling bore-lap, borelapp. Likely from burel (“a coarse woollen cloth”) + lap (“flap of a garment”), where the first element is from Middle English burel, borel. Others feel that "its character and time of appearance makes a Dutch origin very likely" (and the earliest references as to its importation from the Netherlands); the NED suggests derivation from Dutch boenlap (“coarse, rubbing linen or cloth”) with the first element perhaps confused with boer (“farmer, peasant”). Bense similarly suggests derivation from an unattested Dutch *boerenlap, where boeren would be used in the sense of “coarse” as in boerenkost (“coarse, heavy food as is eaten...