Bureau

Pronunciation (New England)

• enPR: byo͝orʹō, IPA: /ˈbjʊɹ.əʊ/
• enPR: byo͝orʹə, IPA: /ˈbjʊɹ.É™/
• Rhymes: -ʊəɹəʊ, Rhymes: -ʊəɹə

Origin

Borrowing from fr bureau, earlier "coarse cloth (as desk cover), baize", from Old French burel ("woolen cloth"), diminutive of *bure (cf. 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 (berberion, "shabby garment").

Full definition of bureau

Noun

1. Office.
2. Desk, usually with a cover and compartments for storing papers etc. located above the level of the writing surface rather than underneath.
3. (US) Chest of drawers for clothes.

Derived terms

• bureau de change
• QSL bureau

Related terms

• bureaucracy
• bureaucrat
• bureaucratic
• bureaugamy
• burel