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Webster 1913 Edition

Bureau

Bu′reau

,
Noun.
;
pl. E.
Bureaus
, F.
Bureaux
.
[F.
bureau
a writing table, desk, office, OF., drugget, with which a writing table was often covered, equiv. to F.
bure
, and fr. OF.
buire
dark brown, the stuff being named from its color, fr. L.
burrus
red, fr. Gr. [GREEK] flame-colored, prob. fr. [GREEK] fire. See
Fire
,
Noun.
, and cf.
Borel
,
Noun.
]
1.
Originally, a desk or writing table with drawers for papers.
Swift.
2.
The place where such a bureau is used; an office where business requiring writing is transacted.
3.
Hence: A department of public business requiring a force of clerks; the body of officials in a department who labor under the direction of a chief.
☞ On the continent of Europe, the highest departments, in most countries, have the name of bureaux; as, the Bureau of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In England and America, the term is confined to inferior and subordinate departments; as, the “Pension Bureau,” a subdepartment of the Department of the Interior.
[Obs.]
In Spanish, bureo denotes a court of justice for the trial of persons belonging to the king’s household.
4.
A chest of drawers for clothes, especially when made as an ornamental piece of furniture.
[U.S.]
Bureau system
.
See
Bureaucracy
.
–
Bureau Veritas
,
an institution, in the interest of maritime underwriters, for the survey and rating of vessels all over the world. It was founded in Belgium in 1828, removed to Paris in 1830, and reëstablished in Brussels in 1870.

Webster 1828 Edition

Bureau

BU'REAU

,
Noun.
buro.
1.
A chest of drawers, for keeping papers or clothes.
2.
An ambassador's or secretary's office.
In Spanish, this word bureo is a court of justice for the trial of persons belonging to the king's household.

Definition 2024

Bureau

Bureau

See also: bureau

Translingual

Proper noun

Bureau

  1. A botanical plant name author abbreviation for botanist Louis Édouard Bureau (1830-1918).

bureau

bureau

See also: Bureau

English

Noun

bureau ‎(plural bureaus or bureaux)

  1. An administrative unit of government; office.
  2. An organization or office for collecting or providing information or news.
    a news bureau; a travel bureau; a service bureau; an employment bureau;   the Citizens Advice Bureau‎
  3. An office (room where clerical or professional duties are performed).
    • Victoria Delderfield, Secret Mother:
      There was an eerie silence in the dorm [... in] the factory. [...] The lamp glowed in his bureau, warm and reassuring and, through the window, I could see his papers strewn across the desk. [...] I called his name again. A movement from his bureau. [...] I banged on his door until it opened a crack[. ...] He pushed me out onto the staircase. "Get out," he screamed. The door to his bureau slammed in my face.
    • 2010, Ellie Nielsen, Buying a Piece of Paris: A Memoir, page 17:
      Both my ability to comprehend what is being said [in French] and my ability to fake comprehension have improved expeditiously. Monsieur holds the door open for me as we step inside his bureau. No one looks up as we enter. He offers me a seat, and when I fail to take it he returns to my side of the desk [...].
    • 2015, Dan Riker, The Blue Girl Murders, page 287:
      Nick opened the bureau door and told Joan he was going to find Susan. He walked to the cafeteria, but it was empty. He went back to the bureau, and asked Joan to check the restrooms.
  4. (chiefly Britain) A desk usually with a cover and compartments that are located above the level of the writing surface rather than underneath, often for for storing papers inside.
  5. (US) A chest of drawers for clothes.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

External links

  • bureau in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
  • bureau in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Dutch

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -oː

Etymology

Borrowing from French bureau.

Noun

bureau n ‎(plural bureaus, diminutive bureautje n)

  1. desk
  2. office

Synonyms

  • bureel

Derived terms

French

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /by.ʁo/

Etymology

From Old French burel, diminutive of *bure (compare Middle French bure ‎(“coarse woolen cloth”), French bourre ‎(“hair, fluff”)), from Late Latin burra ‎(“wool, fluff, shaggy cloth, coarse fabric”); akin to Ancient Greek βερβέριον ‎(berbérion, “shabby garment”).

Noun

bureau m ‎(plural bureaux)

  1. desk
  2. office (room)
  3. ticket office
  4. the staff of an office
  5. office; an administrative unit
  6. (obsolete) frieze (coarse woolen cloth)

Descendants

  • Portuguese: birô (borrowed)
  • Romanian: birou (borrowed)
  • Russian: бюро́ ‎(bjuró) (borrowed)
  • Swedish: byrå (borrowed)

Etymology

Borrowing from French bureau, earlier "coarse cloth (as desk cover), baize", from Old French burel ‎(“woolen cloth”), diminutive of *bure (compare Middle French bure ‎(“coarse woolen cloth”), French bourre ‎(“hair, fluff”)), from Late Latin burra ‎(“wool, fluff, shaggy cloth, coarse fabric”); akin to Ancient Greek βερβέριον ‎(berbérion, “shabby garment”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: byo͝orʹō, IPA(key): /ˈbjʊɹ.əʊ/
  • enPR: byo͝orʹə, IPA(key): /ˈbjʊɹ.ə/
  • (US) enPR: byərʹō, byərʹə, IPA(key): /ˈbjʊɹ.oʊ/, /ˈbjʊɹ.ə/
  • (New England)
  • Rhymes: -ʊəɹəʊ, Rhymes: -ʊəɹə
  • Rhymes: -ɪəɹəʊ

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