bureau

nouncommon in dialogue

United Kingdom//ˈbjʊ.ɹəʊ//
United Kingdom//ˈbjʊ.ɹə//
United States//ˈbjʊ.ɹoʊ//
United States//ˈbjʊ.ɹə//

An administrative unit of government; office.

noun

1
An administrative unit of government; office.
Ashley Johnson is an energy, trade and economics expert at the National Bureau of Asian Research, based in the United States.
2
An organization or office for collecting or providing information or news.
a news bureau; a travel bureau; a service bureau; an employment bureau; the Citizens Advice Bureau
Newt Gingrich gives powerful testimony to the appeal of “the last word in content providership” — speakers’ bureaus.
3
An office (room where clerical or professional duties are performed).
Both my ability to comprehend what is being said [in French] and my ability to fake comprehension have improved expeditiously. Monsieur holds the door open for me as we step inside his bureau. No one looks up as we enter. He offers me a seat, and when I fail to take it he returns to my side of the desk [...].
Nick opened the bureau door and told Joan he was going to find Susan. He walked to the cafeteria, but it was empty. He went back to the bureau, and asked Joan to check the restrooms.
4
A desk, usually with a cover and compartments that are located above the level of the writing surface rather than underneath, and often used for storing papers.
5
A chest of drawers for clothes.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *péh₂wr̥ Proto-Hellenic *pāwər Ancient Greek πῦρ (pûr) Proto-Indo-European *-rós Proto-Hellenic *-rós Ancient Greek -ρός (-rós) Ancient Greek πῠρρός (pŭrrhós)bor. Latin burrus Latin burra Old French *bure Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin -ellus Old French -el Old French burel French bureauubor. English bureau Unadapted borrowing from French bureau, earlier "coarse cloth (as desk cover), baize", from Old French burel (“woolen cloth”), diminutive of *bure (compare 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 (berbérion, “shabby garment”). Doublet of burel and borrel, taken from Old French.

Forms

plural: bureaus, bureaux

Burbank · A surname.burden · A heavy load.Burden · A surname.

bureau · An administrative unit of government; office.

Bureau · A surname from French.bureaucracy · Government by bureaus or their administrators or officers.burger · A hamburger.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.