English
burial
Burial comes from Middle English biriel ‘a tomb or grave’, from Old English byrġan ‘to bury’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *burgijaną.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burgijanąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*burgijanreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150byrġan‘to bury’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150byrġels‘place of burial, tomb’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500biriels‘a tomb or grave’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500biriel‘a tomb or grave’
- Englishearliest quotation 1912burial
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burgijanąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*burgijanreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150byrġan‘to bury’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150byrġels‘place of burial, tomb’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500biriels‘a tomb or grave’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500biriel‘a tomb or grave’
- Englishearliest quotation 1912burial
Earliest quotation: 1912, George Leo de St. M. Watson, Sir Robert Thomas Wilson: “A dreary year for the Squadron, this 1819, when…”
Equivalent to bury + -al
Proto-Indo-European *bʰergʰ- ‘to defend, protect’
Proto-Germanic *burgijaną ‘to keep safe’
Proto-West Germanic *burgijan
Old English byrġan ‘to hide’
Middle English birien ‘to bury’
English bury
The story
By surface analysis, bury + -al, but originally unrelated to this suffix.
Linked words
through Proto-Germanic *burgijaną
through Proto-West Germanic *burgijan
through Old English byrġan ‘to bury’
Today it means
noun The act of burying; interment; placing remains into the earth.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *burgijaną / burial