borough

[bur-oh, buhr-oh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR borough ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

(in certain states of the U.S.) an incorporated municipality smaller than a city.

one of the five administrative divisions of New York City.

British.

an urban community incorporated by royal charter, similar to an incorporated city or municipality in the U.S.
a town, area, or constituency represented by a Member of Parliament.
(formerly) a fortified town organized as and having some of the powers of an independent country.

(in Alaska) an administrative division similar to a county in other states.

Origin of borough

before 900; Middle English burw(e), borwg(h), borogh, bor(u)g, bur(u)g, burgh town, Old English burg fortified town; cognate with Old Norse borg, Old Saxon, Dutch burg, German Burg castle, Gothic baurgs city; MIr brí, brig, Welsh, Breton bre hill, Avestan bərəz- height; akin to Armenian bardzr, Hittite parkus high. See barrow².

Can be confusedborough burro burrow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for borough

precinct, district, ward, community

Examples from the Web for borough

Contemporary Examples of borough

Guy Molinari, a former Staten Island borough president, pushed back against that view.
Will Dirty Pol Vito Fossella Replace Dirty Pol Michael Grimm?
David Freedlander
December 31, 2014
The borough officially became the least affordable place to live in America.
Eric Garner Was Just a Number to Them
Michael Daly
December 5, 2014
Take, for example, the borough of the Bronx in New York City.
Legal but Still Poor: The Economic Consequences of Amnesty
Joel Kotkin
November 21, 2014
The disadvantage for the borough is its location in a big blue state.
DINO Hunters Are Dreaming Hipster Dreams of the DNC in Brooklyn
David Freedlander
August 12, 2014
Blakeman, who has made over 30 national TV appearances, considered running for Brooklyn borough president in 2013.
Bill Maher for Congress?
Dean Obeidallah
March 28, 2014

Historical Examples of borough

Put him in for a borough, and he would be just as well content as if he carried the county.
Tales And Novels, Volume 5 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
There is a dog residing in the Borough of Southwark who keeps a blind man.
The Uncommercial Traveller
Charles Dickens
But Borough and the common are still here--as war has made them.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume II
Mrs. Humphry Ward
We were at Borough Farm when the vision of it first came upon me.
A Writer's Recollections (In Two Volumes), Volume II
Mrs. Humphry Ward
"If only the Mayor of the Borough had performed the ceremony," Gilbert lamented.
Changing Winds
St. John G. Ervine

British Dictionary definitions for borough

borough

noun

a town, esp (in Britain) one that forms the constituency of an MP or that was originally incorporated by royal charterSee also burgh

any of the 32 constituent divisions that together with the City of London make up Greater London

any of the five constituent divisions of New York City

(in the US) a self-governing incorporated municipality

(in medieval England) a fortified town or village or a fort

(in New Zealand) a small municipality with a governing body

Word Origin for borough

Old English burg; related to beorgan to shelter, Old Norse borg wall, Gothic baurgs city, Old High German burg fortified castle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for borough

Old English burg, burh "a dwelling or dwellings within a fortified enclosure," from Proto-Germanic *burgs "hill fort, fortress" (cf. Old Frisian burg "castle," Old Norse borg "wall, castle," Old High German burg, buruc "fortified place, citadel," German Burg "castle," Gothic baurgs "city"), from PIE *bhrgh "high," with derivatives referring to hills, hill forts, fortified elevations (cf. Old English beorg "hill," Welsh bera "stack, pyramid," Sanskrit bhrant-, Avestan brzant- "high," Greek Pergamos, name of the citadel of Troy).

In German and Old Norse, chiefly as "fortress, castle;" in Gothic, "town, civic community." Meaning shifted in Middle English from "fortress," to "fortified town," to simply "town" (especially one possessing municipal organization or sending representatives to Parliament). In U.S. (originally Pennsylvania, 1718) often an incorporated town; in Alaska, however, it is the equivalent of a county. The Scottish form is burgh. The Old English dative singular byrig survives in many place names as -bury.