burgess
/ˈbɜːd͡ʒɪs/ noun, proper noun
Forms burgesses
- noun An inhabitant of a borough with full rights; a citizen.
- noun (historical) A town magistrate.
- noun (historical, UK) A representative of a borough in the Parliament.
- noun (historical, US) 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.
- noun (Saskatchewan) A person who pays municipal taxes, a ratepayer.
- proper noun A surname transferred from the common noun.
- proper noun A township in Bond County, Illinois.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Hayes Township, Charlevoix County, Michigan.
- proper noun A village in Barton County, Missouri.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Horry County, South Carolina.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Northumberland County, Virginia.
Synonyms
Etymology
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.
By proprialization from burgess, which is from Anglo-Norman burgeis (“town-dweller”); more at burgess.
Webster’s 1913
- noun An inhabitant of a borough or walled town, or one who possesses a tenement therein; a citizen or freeman of a borough. Blackstone.
- noun One who represents a borough in Parliament.
Etymology [OE. burgeis, OF. burgeis, fr. burcfortified town, town, F. bourg village, fr. LL. burgus fort, city; from the German; cf. MHG. burc, G. burg. See 1st Borough, and cf. 2d Bourgeois.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “burgess”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details