burma
/ˈbɜː.mə/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.57 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "The province of Yunnan lies in the extreme southwest of the Empire, its southern and western borders forming the northern frontiers of Tongking and Burma respectively. On the north it is bordered by Szechuan, and on the east by Kweichau and Kwangsi. It is the third largest province of the Empire, its area measuring 122,000 square miles, but, as elsewhere remarked, owing to the devastatations^([sic – meaning devastations]) of the Mohammedan rebellion and ensuing plague, its population has been greatly reduced, and now is not more than 6,000,000. Yet its mineral wealth is greater and more varied than that of any other province. Its capital is Yunnan, between which town and Burma a considerable trade is carried on."
Etymology
Borrowed, initially into British English, from Burmese ဗမာ (ba.ma), colloquial form of မြန်မာ (mranma); see Myanmar for more. The r in Burma was not originally pronounced (and is not present in the Burmese term), the -ur- (alternatively also -ir-, though the spelling Birma is obsolete in English) is a device used by non-rhotic dialects to represent the schwa found in the pronunciation of the Burmese colloquial form.
Word Breakdown
- Root: ဗမာ
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈbɜː.mə/
- British English: /ˈbɜː.mə/
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
Countries of the world