birle

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birle

Where it comes from

From Middle English birlen, from Old English byrelian (“to give or serve a drink to”), from byrele (“cupbearer, steward, butler”), from Proto-Germanic *burilijaz (“carrier, manservant”), from *burjô (“descendant, son”), from *beraną (“to bear, carry”). Related to Old English byre (“son, offspring, youth”). More at bear.

verb birles · birling · birled · birl · byrl

Scotland, obsolete To pour a drink (for). c.1882-1898, Francis James Child (collector and editor), Child's Ballads, Number 68: "Young Hunting", She has birld in him Young Hunting / The good ale and the beer, / Till he was as fou drunken / As any wild-wood steer.
Scotland, obsolete To drink deeply or excessively; carouse. c.1882-1898, Francis James Child (collector and editor), Child's Ballads, Number 73: "Lord Thomas and Fair Annet", They birled, they birled at Annies wake / The white bread and the wine, / And ere the morn at that same time / At his they birled the same.

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MLA

"birle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/birle. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

birle. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/birle

Chicago

"birle." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/birle.

BibTeX

@misc{birle_2026,
  title = {birle},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/birle},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}