Talk:Burrow

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] Derivation of the word burrow

There is a suggestion that the words bunny and burrow have a common origin and meaning, French in origin appearing in Britain after the Norman Conquest, being a possible explanation for the phrase bunny rabbit. Bunny also means "a collection of ore without a seam running to or from it". There is a common Cornish family name of Bunny/Bunney who are historically linked to the mining of iron ore.

Removed this section because no dictionary or online source such as etymonline.com seems to support this opinion provided without a source and which sounds like a private theory. --Espoo 05:48, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

The following facts speak against the otherwise quite queer suggestion that bunny and burrow could have any etymological relation at all. According to my Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary (ISBN 0-671--41819-X):

• A bunny is a rabbit, or a pet name used by children. Diminutive of bun, Gaelic for a stock, a short, thick person or animal.
• A burrow is a hollow place in the earth dug by an animal, or any hole or tunnel in the ground, or also a mound outside a mine. From Middle English borow, a hole for shelter, or a mound. Earlier Anglo Saxon beorh, a mound.

Kind regards, Zack Holly Venturi 19:42, 13 January 2007 (UTC)