burgess

views updated May 23 2018

bur·gess / ˈbərjis/ • n. a person with municipal authority or privileges, in particular: ∎  a magistrate or member of the governing body of a town. ∎ hist. a member of the assembly of colonial Maryland or Virginia.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

burgess

views updated May 29 2018

burgess inhabitant of a borough XIII; parliamentary representative XV. ME. burge(i)s, borges — OF. burgeis :- Rom. *burgensis, f. late L. burgus BOROUGH + -ensis (cf. -ESE).

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

More From encyclopedia.com

About this article

burgess

All Sources -
Updated Aug 08 2016 About encyclopedia.com content Print Topic

You Might Also Like