Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

bursa

1 American  
[bur-suh] / ˈbɜr sə /

noun

plural

bursae, bursas

  1. Anatomy, Zoology. a pouch, sac, or vesicle, especially a sac containing synovia, to facilitate motion, as between a tendon and a bone.

Bursa 2 American  
[boor-sah] / burˈsɑ /

noun

  1. a city in NW Turkey in Asia: a former capital of the Ottoman Empire.

bursa 1 British  
/ ˈbɜːsə /

noun

  1. a small fluid-filled sac that reduces friction between movable parts of the body, esp at joints

  2. zoology any saclike cavity or structure

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Bursa 2 British  
/ ˈbɜːsə /

noun

  1. Former name: Brusa.  a city in NW Turkey: founded in the 2nd century bc ; seat of Bithynian kings. Pop: 1 413 000 (2005 est)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
bursa Scientific  
/ bûr′sə /

plural

bursae

  1. A flattened sac containing a lubricating fluid that reduces friction between two moving structures in the body, as a tendon and a bone.

bursa Cultural  

  1. A fluid-filled sac or cavity that reduces friction between the bones, ligaments, and tendons in the body's joints.

Other Word Forms

  • bursal adjective
  • bursate adjective
  • postbursal adjective

Etymology

Origin of bursa

First recorded in 1795–1805; from New Latin, Late Latin bursa “bag, pouch, purse,” from Greek býrsa “hide, leather”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

McVay said a few days later that a bursa sac in Nacua’s knee had burst.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 9, 2024

The researchers documented similar changes to cells and proteins in bursa samples from patients who underwent surgery to repair rotator cuff injuries, suggesting comparable processes may occur in people.

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2024

To explore the role of the bursa in rotator cuff disease, Thomopoulos and graduate student Brittany Marshall examined rats with repaired rotator cuff injuries, with and without bursa removal.

From Science Daily • Apr. 25, 2024

Small fluid-filled sacs called bursa, which normally cushion the joint, may instead swell and ache.

From New York Times • Dec. 29, 2022

When the wall is thickened, the most satisfactory treatment is to excise the bursa; the overlying skin being reflected in the shape of a horse-shoe flap or being removed along with the bursa.

From Manual of Surgery Volume First: General Surgery. Sixth Edition. by Thomson, Alexis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.