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burgeon

or bour·geon

[ bur-juhn ]
/ ˈbɜr dʒən /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR burgeon

verb (used without object)

to grow or develop quickly; flourish: The town burgeoned into a city. He burgeoned into a fine actor.
to begin to grow, as a bud; put forth buds, shoots, etc., as a plant (often followed by out, forth).

verb (used with object)

to put forth, as buds.

noun

a bud; sprout.

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Origin of burgeon

1275–1325; (noun) Middle English burjon, burion shoot, bud <Anglo-French burjun, burg(e)on;Old French burjon <Vulgar Latin *burriōne(m), accusative of *burriō, derivative of Late Latin burra wool, fluff (cf. bourrée, bureau), presumably from the down covering certain buds; (v.) Middle English burg(e)onen, borgen <Anglo-French, Old French, derivative of the noun

usage note for burgeon

The two senses of burgeon, “to bud” ( The maples are burgeoning ) and “to grow or flourish” ( The suburbs around the city have been burgeoning under the impact of commercial growth ), date from the 14th century. Today the sense “to grow or flourish” is the more common. Occasionally, objections are raised to the use of this sense, perhaps because of its popularity in journalistic writing.

Words nearby burgeon

burg, burgage, Burgas, burgee, Burgenland, burgeon, burger, burgess, Burgess Shale, burgh, burgher
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to burgeon

sprout, prosper, snowball, flower, bud, mushroom, blossom, increase, thrive, grow, expand

Example sentences from the Web for burgeon

British Dictionary definitions for burgeon

burgeon

bourgeon

/ (ˈbɜːdʒən) /

verb

(often foll by forth or out) (of a plant) to sprout (buds)
(intr ; often foll by forth or out) to develop or grow rapidly; flourish

noun

a bud of a plant

Word Origin for burgeon

C13: from Old French burjon, perhaps ultimately from Late Latin burra shaggy cloth; from the downiness of certain buds
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