- To bury the hatchet
- Bury Bur"y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Buried}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Burying}.] [OE. burien, birien, berien, AS. byrgan; akin to
beorgan to protect, OHG. bergan, G. bergen, Icel. bjarga, Sw.
berga, Dan. bierge, Goth. ba['i]rgan. [root]95. Cf.
{Burrow}.]
1. To cover out of sight, either by heaping something over,
or by placing within something, as earth, etc.; to conceal
by covering; to hide; as, to bury coals in ashes; to bury
the face in the hands.
[1913 Webster]
And all their confidence Under the weight of mountains buried deep. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
2. Specifically: To cover out of sight, as the body of a deceased person, in a grave, a tomb, or the ocean; to deposit (a corpse) in its resting place, with funeral ceremonies; to inter; to inhume. [1913 Webster]
Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. --Matt. viii. 21. [1913 Webster]
I'll bury thee in a triumphant grave. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
3. To hide in oblivion; to put away finally; to abandon; as, to bury strife. [1913 Webster]
Give me a bowl of wine In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
{Burying beetle} (Zo["o]l.), the general name of many species of beetles, of the tribe {Necrophaga}; the sexton beetle; -- so called from their habit of burying small dead animals by digging away the earth beneath them. The larv[ae] feed upon decaying flesh, and are useful scavengers.
{To bury the hatchet}, to lay aside the instruments of war, and make peace; -- a phrase used in allusion to the custom observed by the North American Indians, of burying a tomahawk when they conclude a peace. [1913 Webster]
Syn: To intomb; inter; inhume; inurn; hide; cover; conceal; overwhelm; repress. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.