brûler

• bruler (post-1990 spelling)

Inherited from Middle French brusler, from Old French brusler, bruller (“to burn”), probably an enhanced form of usler (“to scorch”), from Latin ustulāre. Cognate with dialectal Italian brustolare. The initial br- may be compared to Italian bruciare, but the further origin is uncertain. One or more of the following may have contributed: (1) Old French bruir (“to burn”), from Frankish *brōjan (“to scald, sear”); (2) Latin ambūrere, combūrere (“to burn”) and their participles ambustus, combustus; (3) a Gaulish cognate of Old Irish bruth (“boiling heat”). The words in 1 and 3 are from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁-.

• IPA^(key): /bʁy.le/

• Audio:

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brûler

1. (transitive, intransitive) to burn

   La maison des voisins a brûlé.

   The neighbors' house has burnt down.

   Ils sont en train de brûler un tas de feuilles mortes.

   They are burning a heap of dead leaves.

2. (reflexive) to burn oneself

   Je me suis brûlé avec une ampoule.

   I burnt myself on a light bulb.

3. (figurative, transitive) to pass an obstacle, to blow (through or past), to run
   • 2022 February 26, Stéphanie Chayet, “Foucault, Deleuze, Derrida… Aux origines françaises du « wokisme »”, in Le Monde‎^[1]:

     New York, novembre 1975. La plus grande ville américaine vient d’échapper de justesse à la faillite. Les taxis de nuit brûlent les feux rouges pour éviter les braquages, les poubelles s’entassent, la classe moyenne a pris le large.

     New York, November 1975. America's biggest city has just narrowly escaped bankruptcy. At night, taxis run red lights to avoid being robbed. Trash is piling up, and the middle classes have headed for the hills.

• ardre (archaic)

• Esperanto: bruli
• Haitian Creole: boule

• “brûler”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
• “brûler” in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse.
• “brûler” in Dico en ligne Le Robert.

• brulaïr (Guernsey)

From Old French brusler (“to burn”).

brûler (gerund brûl'lie)

1. (Jersey) to burn