Definition of: burl

(bûrl) noun
1. A knot or lump in wool or cloth.
2. A large, wartlike excrescence, usually a flattened hemisphere, formed on the trunks of trees.
3. A veneer made from it.
— v.t. To dress (cloth) by removing burls, loose thread, etc. ◆ Homophone: birl. [<OF bourle tuft of wool <L burra shaggy hair]
—burled adjective
— burl′er· noun