Emily Dickinson Lexicon

bur (burr, burs), n. [Danish 'burdock'.] (webplay: seeds, sweetbread).

1. Seed pod; chestnut husk.
2. Pine cone; deciduous spike; female catkin of an evergreen.
3. Sticker; thorn; goat-head; prickly weed; rough husk; dry flower head; [onomatapoeia; word play with “burrrr”] shiver; shudder; trembling; tremor; chill.
4. Stubble; chaff; straw; remains of the harvest.
5. Pod; shell; cod; case; capsule; [fig.] head; skull.