German city, the -burg is German Burg "fort," in reference to the moated castle built there c.825; the first element is perhaps Old High German hamma "ham, back of the knee" in a transferred sense of "bend, angle," with reference to its position on a river bend promontory, or Middle High German hamme "enclosed area of pastureland."

n.

1610s, "native of Hamburg;" the meat product so called from 1884, hamburg steak, named for the German city of Hamburg, though no certain connection has ever been put forth, and there may not be one unless it be that Hamburg was a major port of departure for German immigrants to United States. Meaning "a sandwich consisting of a bun and a patty of grilled hamburger meat" attested by 1912. Shortened form burger attested from 1939; beefburger was attempted 1940, in an attempt to make the main ingredient more explicit, after the -burger had taken on a life of its own as a suffix (cf. cheeseburger, first attested 1938).