Etymology : French, desk, cloth covering for desks, from Old French burel woolen cloth, from Old French bure, from Late Latin burra shaggy cloth
Pronunciation : 'byur-(")O
Function : noun
Date : 1699
1. writing desk; dresser; office. bureau\bu"reau\ , n.; pl. e. bureaus , f. bureaux . [f. bureau a writing table, desk, office, of., drugget, with which a writing table was often covered, equiv. to f. bure, and fr. of. buire dark brown, the stuff being named from its color, fr. l. burrus red, fr. gr. flame-colored, prob. fr. fire. see:
fire, n., and cf. borel, n.].
2. originally, a desk or writing table with drawers for papers.
3. the place where such a bureau is used; an office where business requiring writing is transacted.
4. hence: a department of public business requiring a force of clerks; the body of officials in a department who labor under the direction of a chief.note: on the continent of europe, the highest departments, in most countries, have the name of bureaux; as, the bureau of the minister of foreign affairs. in england and america, the term is confined to inferior and subordinate departments; as, the "pension bureau," a subdepartment of the department of the interior. [obs.] in spanish, bureo denotes a court of justice for the trial of persons belonging to the king's household.
5. a chest of drawers for clothes, especially when made as an ornamental piece of furniture. [u.s.]bureau system. see:
bureaucracy.bureau veritas, an institution, in the interest of maritime underwriters, for the survey and rating of vessels all over the world. it was founded in belgium in 1828, removed to paris in 1830, and reëstablished in brussels in 1870.bureau n.
6. an administrative unit of government; "the central intelligence agency"; "the census bureau"; "office of management and budget"; "tennessee valley authority" [syn: agency, federal agency, government agency, office, authority].
7. furniture with drawers for keeping clothes [syn: chest of drawers , chest, dresser].
8. Originally, a desk or writing table with drawers for papers.
9. The place where such a bureau is used; an office where business requiring writing is transacted.
10. Hence: A department of public business requiring a force of clerks; the body of officials in a department who labor under the direction of a chief.
11. A chest of drawers for clothes, especially when made as an ornamental piece of furniture.
12. The usual plural in British English is bureaux. The usual plural in American English is bureaus.
13. A bureau is an office, organization, or government department that collects and distributes information. the Federal Bureau of Investigation. the Citizens' Advice Bureau.
14. A bureau is an office of a company or organization which has its main office in another town or country. the Wall Street Journal's Washington bureau. = office.
15. A bureau is a writing desk with shelves and drawers and a lid that opens to form the writing surface.
16. A bureau is a chest of drawers. Communist Information Bureau Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Bureau of Better Business Bureau credit bureau Federal Bureau of Investigation Freedmen's Bureau Bureau of Standards.