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burgess

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burgess¹

  • /ˈbɜːd͡ʒɪs/ UK

Where it comes from

From Middle English burgeis, from Anglo-Norman burgeis (“town-dweller”), of Proto-Germanic origin; either from Late Latin burgensis (from Latin burgus), or from Frankish *burg, both from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold, city”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ-. See also borough, bourgeois, burgish.

noun burgesses

  1. An inhabitant of a borough with full rights; a citizen. In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass. In this way all respectable burgesses, down to fifty years ago, spent their evenings.
  2. historical A town magistrate.
  3. UK, historical A representative of a borough in the Parliament.
  4. US, historical A member of the House of Burgesses, a legislative body in colonial America, established by the Virginia Company to provide civil rule in the colonies.
  5. A person who pays municipal taxes, a ratepayer.

Burgess²

  • /ˈbɜːd͡ʒɪs/

Where it comes from

By proprialization from burgess, which is from Anglo-Norman burgeis (“town-dweller”); more at burgess.

proper noun

  1. A surname transferred from the common noun.
  2. A township in Bond County, Illinois.
  3. An unincorporated community in Hayes Township, Charlevoix County, Michigan.
  4. A village in Barton County, Missouri.
  5. An unincorporated community in Horry County, South Carolina.
  6. An unincorporated community in Northumberland County, Virginia.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: burgher, townsman, freeman, freeholder, elector, citizen, deputy, alderman, commoner, councillor, voter, representative, delegate, parliamentarian, mp, inhabitant

Translations

Every language

noun inhabitant of a borough with full rights

中文市民 shìmín
DeutschBürger, (historical)Bürgerin
Italianocittadino

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Cite this
MLA

"burgess." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/burgess. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

burgess. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/burgess

Chicago

"burgess." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/burgess.

BibTeX
@misc{burgess_2026,
  title = {burgess},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/burgess},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}