To bury is to put something in the ground and cover it with earth, such as a dead body, a treasure, or a seed. It can also mean to hide or forget something deeply, like a memory or a problem.
From Old English “byrgan,” meaning “to bury or inter,” related to “beorgan,” “to protect or shelter.” The original idea included both hiding and protecting.
The spelling of “bury” suggests /ˈbjʊə.ri/, but history twisted the pronunciation to /ˈber.i/—a little trap from older English sound changes. When we bury things, we’re both hiding them and, in a way, guarding them from the surface world.
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