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Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

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First published 1941 (SND Vol. II).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

BURSEN, BURSTEN, Burs'n, v., pa.p. A strong pa.p. of burst, gen. used attrib. Now obs. in St.Eng. [′bʌrs(t)ən]

1. (1) Filled to bursting (Bnff.², Ags.², w.Lth. (per Edb.¹), Lnk.³ 1937).Sc. 1737 Ramsay Proverbs 32:
Hungry dogs are blyth of bursten Puddings.Abd. 1826 D. Anderson Poems 19:
After thy feasts I've been sae fu', As sick's a tyke, an' like to spue; An' wearied as a burs'n sow I've laid me down.Gall.(D) 1901 Trotter Gall. Gossip 69:
Folk said the folk aboot the manse wusna bursen wi' meat aither, in thae days.

(2) “Breathless, panting from over-exertion” (Sh. 1866 Edm. Gl., bursn); exhausted. Also known to Bnff.², Fif.¹⁰ 1937. Cf. Burst, n., 3.Abd.⁴ 1929:
Blyaavin like a burs'n horse, breathing heavily after a race, etc.Fif. 1812 W. Tennant Anster Fair iv. xxx.:
Wearied, half-bursten with their hot turmoil, Their lungs like Vulcan's bellows panting strong.

(3) Fat and pursy (Bnff.² 1937). Also fig. Hence bursen belch, see Belch, n., 1.Edb. 1788 J. Macaulay Poems 161:
No like the bursten lazy spark, That wastes his prime.Dmf. 1843 T. Carlyle Past and Present II. iii.:
An enormous superannuated ash-tree now grown quite corpulent, bursten, superfluous.

2. Combs.: (1) bursen churn, applied to the contents of a churn when the butter breaks through over-churning (Bnff.², Abd.² 1937); cf. Burst, v., II. 1; (2) bursen grease, in machinery, grease which has become thin through friction (Bnff.², Abd.² 1937). Used fig. in quot.; (3) bursen kirn, “harvesting accomplished with great labour and difficulty” (Sc. 1887 Jam.⁶). The “kirn” is the last handful of grain to be cut down on the harvest field. Cf. Burst, v., II. 2 (1).(2) Bch. 1928 (per Abd.¹⁵):
“That takes the bursen grease oot o' ye!” (said to a person sweating profusely from over-exertion).(3) Gall. 1824 MacTaggart Gallov. Encycl. 104:
If the last of the crop cannot be got cut by the shearers for all they can work until night be set in — then they say they have had a bursen kirn.