bureau

Definition

An administrative unit of government; office.

Etymology

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.

Example Sentences

• "Ashley Johnson is an energy, trade and economics expert at the National Bureau of Asian Research, based in the United States."
• "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."

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