Burnet (redirected from burnets)

Bur·net  (br-nt, bûrnt), Sir (Frank) Macfarlane 1899-1985.

Australian virologist. He shared a 1960 Nobel Prize for work on acquired immunological tolerance.

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bur·net  (br-nt, bûrnt)

n.

A perennial plant of the genus Sanguisorba, having pinnately compound leaves and apetalous flowers. The young leaves are sometimes added to salads as a garnish.

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[Middle English, from Medieval Latin burneta, from Old French brunete, dark brown, diminutive of brun, brown, of Germanic origin; see bher-² in Indo-European roots.]

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burnet [ˈbɜːnɪt]

n

1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) a plant of the rosaceous genus Sanguisorba (or Poterium), such as S. minor (or P. sanguisorba) (salad burnet), which has purple-tinged green flowers and leaves that are sometimes used for salads

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants)

burnet rose Also called Scotch rose a very prickly Eurasian rose, Rosa pimpinellifolia, with white flowers and purplish-black fruits

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants)

burnet saxifrage a Eurasian umbelliferous plant of the genus Pimpinella, having umbrella-like clusters of white or pink flowers

4. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) a moth of the genus Zygaena, having red-spotted dark green wings and antennae with enlarged tips: family Zygaenidae

[from Old French burnete, variant of brunete dark brown (see brunette); so called from the colour of the flowers of some of the plants]

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Burnet [bəˈnɛt ˈbɜːnɪt]

n

1. (Biographies / Burnet, Gilbert (1643-1715) M, Scottish, RELIGION: clergyman, HISTORY: historian) Gilbert. 1643-1715, Scottish bishop and historian, who played a prominent role in the Glorious Revolution (1688-89); author of The History of My Own Times (2 vols: 1724 and 1734)

2. (Biographies / Burnet, Sir (Frank) Macfarlane (1899-1985) M, Australian, MEDICINE: physician, SCIENCE: virologist) Sir (Frank) Macfarlane (məkˈfɑːlən). 1899-1985, Australian physician and virologist, who shared a Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1960 with P. B. Medawar for their work in immunology

3. (Biographies / Burnet, Thomas (1635-1715) M, English, RELIGION: theologian) Thomas. 1635-1715, English theologian who tried to reconcile science and religion in his Sacred theory of the Earth (1680-89)