Emily Dickinson Lexicon

BURN, v.t. [pret. and pp. burned or burnt. Sax. bernan, bærnan, or byrnan, to burn; bryne, a burning fire, ardor; Sw. brinna, bränna; G. brennen; D. branden; Dan. brænder, from brand; L. pruna, and perhaps, furnus, fornax, a furnace. The primary sense is, to rage, to act with violent excitement.]

1. To consume with fire; to reduce to ashes by the action of heat or fire; frequently with up; as, to burn up wood.
2. To expel the volatile parts and reduce to charcoal by fire; as, to burn wood into coal. Hence, in popular language, to burn a kiln of wood, is to char the wood.
3. To cleanse of soot by burning; to inflame; as, to burn a chimney; an extensive use of the word.
4. To harden in the fire; to bake or harden by heat; as, to burn bricks or a brickkiln.
5. To scorch; to affect by heat; as, to burn the clothes or the legs by the fire; to burn meat or bread in cookery.
6. To injure by fire; to affect the flesh by heat.
7. To dry up or dissipate; with up; as, to burn up tares. – Dryden.
8. To dry excessively; to cause to wither by heat; as, the sun burns the grass or plants.
9. To heat or inflame; to affect with excessive stimulus; as, ardent spirits burn the stomach.
10. To affect with heat in cookery, so as to give the food disagreeable taste. Hence the phrase, burnt to.
11. To calcine with heat or fire; to expel the volatile matter from substances, so that they are easily pulverized; as, to burn oyster shells, or lime-stone.
12. To affect with excess of heat; as, the fever burns a patient.
13. To subject to the action of fire; to heat or dry; as, to burn colors. – Encyc. To burn up, to consume entirely by fire. To burn out, to burn till the fuel is all consumed.