Pronunciation: [bˈɜːkə] (IPA) 
The word "burker" is spelled with a "u" after the "r" because of its origin in the surname of William Burke, infamous for his role in the Burke and Hare murders. The "u" is pronounced as a short "u" sound, represented in IPA as /ʌ/. The "k" is used instead of a "c" to indicate a hard "k" sound, represented in IPA as /k/. Therefore, the phonetic transcription for "burker" would be /ˈbərkər/.
The term "burker" refers to an individual who engages in the act of burking. Burking is a criminal practice primarily associated with the clandestine world of body-snatching or grave robbery. Specifically, a burker is a person who abducts or digs up corpses, often in the dead of night, for illicit purposes such as illegal medical research or the selling of cadavers to medical schools or anatomical societies.
The actions of a burker typically involve suffocating the recently deceased by pressing on their chest or abdomen to prevent any signs of struggle or injury that could raise suspicions upon examination of the body. This technique is commonly known as burking and was named after William Burke, a notorious 19th-century Scottish criminal who committed a series of murders for profit by selling the bodies to medical professionals.
Due to the illegal and macabre nature of their activities, burkers operated covertly, targeting graves or cemeteries that were poorly guarded or remote. Their actions not only defiled graves and caused immense distress to grieving families but also fueled public fears and led to increased security measures to protect burial sites.
In modern times, the term "burker" may also be used more broadly to describe someone involved in the illegal trade of human organs or body parts. However, it primarily retains its historical connotation linked to the secretive world of corpse stealing.
The word "burker" has a somewhat gruesome etymology. It originated in the early 19th century and was primarily used in Scotland and England. The term "burker" comes from the name William Burke, who was a notorious criminal involved in the trade of supplying bodies to medical schools for dissection.
In the early 19th century, there was a high demand for cadavers for medical study and research. Medical schools legally obtained a limited number of bodies through the "Anatomy Act" but the demand far exceeded the supply. This created a fertile ground for grave-robbers and criminals like William Burke.
Burke, along with his accomplice William Hare, resorted to murder to provide fresh bodies to medical schools. They would target vulnerable individuals, often prostitutes or homeless people, and kill them. After the murders, they would sell the bodies to anatomy schools in Edinburgh, Scotland.
