burn
To be on fire; to undergo combustion; to be consumed or damaged by fire or heat.
Etymology
From Old English byrnan (intransitive) and bærnan (transitive), from Proto-Germanic *brinnaną and *brannijaną. The PIE origin is debated — some scholars connect it to *gʷher- "to be warm, hot," others propose a separate root. The two Old English forms merged into the single Modern English "burn." The deeper etymology remains uncertain.
The Journey: *gʷʰer- → burn
*gʷher-
*brinnaną
byrnan/bærnan
burn
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *gʷʰer-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word |
|---|---|
| Greek | thermós (warm) |
| Latin | (none direct) |
| Gothic | brinnan |
| Sanskrit | gharmá- (heat) |
| Old Norse | brenna |
| Old High German | brinnan |
Did You Know?
Greek thermós "warm" from the same broader root gives English "thermal" and "thermometer." The Scots word for a stream, "burn" (as in Robert Burns), is a completely different word from Old English burna "spring, stream."
This word descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *gʷʰer-. See the full root page for descendant trees, sound law references, and scholarly discussion.