Are "burro" and "aburrir" related?

Question

Is the word aburrir (get bored) etymologically related to the word burro (donkey)?

They seem to share a common root (burr). Plus, there is a Spanish saying:

Solo los burros se aburren

I've often heard this funny silly sentence. — Me aburro... — !Pues cómprate un burro! ;) It's just a play on words because of the similarity in spelling of both words. — Javi, Commented Mar 13, 2012 at 14:26
I invented a Spanish Tom Swifty: —El asno no hace nada — dijo Tomás, aburrido. — Michael Wolf, Commented Mar 14, 2012 at 4:15

4 revs, 3 users 78% · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-06 08:44:56Z

23

No, aburrir comes from the Latin abhorrere, related with the English word abhor.

Burro or borrico comes also from the Latin, but from a different root, burricus (caballejo).

aburrir
Del lat. abhorrēre.

abhor
mid-15c., from Latin abhorrere

borrico, ca
Del lat. tardío burrīcus 'caballo pequeño'.

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