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• burgess
  burgess

  noun

  a representative in the popular branch of the colonial legislature of Virginia or Maryland.
• Burgess
  Burgess

  noun

  Anthony, 1917–93, English novelist and critic.

burgess

¹ American  

[bur-jis] / ˈbɜr dʒɪs /

noun

1. American History. a representative in the popular branch of the colonial legislature of Virginia or Maryland.

2. (formerly) a representative of a borough in the British Parliament.

3. Rare. an inhabitant of an English borough.

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Burgess ² American  

[bur-jis] / ˈbɜr dʒɪs /

noun

1. Anthony, 1917–93, English novelist and critic.

2. (Frank) Gelett 1866–1951, U.S. illustrator and humorist.

3. Thornton Waldo, 1874–1965, U.S. author, especially of children's books.

4. a male given name.

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burgess ¹ British  

/ ˈbɜːdʒɪs /

noun

1. 1. a citizen or freeman of a borough

   2. any inhabitant of a borough

2. English history a Member of Parliament from a borough, corporate town, or university

3. a member of the colonial assembly of Maryland or Virginia

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Burgess ² British  

/ ˈbɜːdʒɪs /

noun

1. Anthony , real name John Burgess Wilson . 1917–93, English novelist and critic: his novels include A Clockwork Orange (1962), Tremor of Intent (1966), Earthly Powers (1980), and Any Old Iron (1989)

2. Guy . 1911–63, British spy, who fled to the Soviet Union (with Donald Maclean) in 1951

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Etymology

Origin of burgess

1175–1225; Middle English burgeis < Anglo-French, Old French, equivalent to burg city (< Germanic ) + -eis < Latin -ēnsis -ensis; cf. -ese

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Explanation

Historically, a burgess was an important citizen. A free, male inhabitant of a medieval English borough was known as a burgess. A burgess was originally a fairly ordinary citizen, and the word shares a root with the French bourgeois, "member of the middle class." In England, it came to mean an elected official, or someone who represents a borough in the House of Commons. The American Colonies of Virginia and Maryland adopted a similar use of burgess, establishing a House of Burgess where elected representatives governed alongside a British-appointed governor.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

burgess Burgess

Since the conquerors felt they must stick together, it was possible for an ambitious young Norman lad, though only the son of a Cheapside burgess, to get a helping hand from Norman nobles.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bagpipes welcomed the Eisenhowers to Maybole, where the General was made a freeman and burgess.

From Time Magazine Archive

The burgess with whom Graelent lodged had risen early in the morning, and with his wife had gone to eat with neighbours in the town.

From Aucassin & Nicolette And Other Mediaeval Romances and Legends by Eugene Mason

"A most respectable lineage," said tho burgess, quite awe-struck at so glorious a descent.

From William Shakespeare as he lived. An Historical Tale by Henry Curling

Now this unhappy burgess knew not what to do, for some of his acquaintance gazed the other way, whilst men, to whom he had done naught but good, jested upon him openly in the street.

From Aucassin & Nicolette And Other Mediaeval Romances and Legends by Eugene Mason

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Gardner said Burgess was in his own room, isolated from residents and posed no risk.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

"Humans haven't seen temperatures as hot as today for, arguably, at least the last 100,000 years," Samantha Burgess from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, which oversees Copernicus, told AFP.

From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026

When Cameron isn’t practicing his moves with pro partner Sharna Burgess, the “Bachelorette” alum has a very personal real estate project to retreat to: his extensively renovated home in Jupiter, Fla.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

"This record is another clear signal of an ocean under growing stress," said Dr Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus.

From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026

The "Cambridge Spy Ring"—which included Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, Anthony Blunt, and John Cairncross—made sure that almost nothing that England or its allies did would be kept secret from the USSR.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau

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Related Words

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