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Aaron Burr

Aaron Burr

5 7.7
United States politician who served as vice president and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel
  • proper noun
  • /ˈɛərən bɜr/
: Aaron Burr
  • In a famous duel, Aaron Burr fatally wounded Alexander Hamilton, which marked a significant moment in American history.

Examples

  • Not since Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton squared off on the fields of Weehawken have you had access to such raw and primal competition.

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  • The city essentially handed over drinking water to the Manhattan Company, a firm created, amazingly, by Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton.

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  • (And Aaron Burr was an early feminist.)

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  • Aaron Burr served as vice president under Aaron Burr from 1801 to 1805.

  • Aaron Burr was a key political figure in the early United States, influential in shaping the nation's direction.

Surface Forms

Aaron Burr main

Morphology

Aaron + Burr

This is a referential proper name: the meaning (a historical U.S. politician who killed Hamilton) is world knowledge, not compositional from the constituents 'Aaron' and 'Burr'. Knowing the individual name parts does not allow a B1 learner to infer the biographical or historical meaning, so the expression is opaque.

Etymology

Aaron Burr is the name of a US politician who was Thomas Jefferson's vice president and who killed Alexander Hamilton in a famous duel. That dramatic event made people remember him for a 'duel' and for early American 'political conflict'.