burgeon

or bour·geon

[bur-juhn]

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.

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

Synonyms for burgeon

1. bloom, blossom, mushroom, expand.

Usage note

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for burgeoned

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

Examples from the Web for burgeoned

Historical Examples of burgeoned

He burgeoned, expanded, flung back his head in the old, imperial way.
Dreamers of the Ghetto
I. Zangwill
Even in the desert the monstrous accountability system of the army lived and burgeoned.
Overland
John William De Forest
"Hole still a minute—we got time yit to spare," counselled Jeff; on top of his first inspiration a second one had burgeoned forth.
Those Times And These
Irvin S. Cobb
The sky was cloudless, the tall trees had burgeoned, a few green shoots were already brightening their myriad of brown twigs.
A Daughter of Eve
Honore de Balzac
He knew that she liked his company, and whatever was well in him burgeoned at the knowledge.
The Lady of Loyalty House
Justin Huntly McCarthy

British Dictionary definitions for burgeoned

burgeon

bourgeon

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

Word Origin and History for burgeoned

burgeon

early 14c., "grow, sprout, blossom," from Anglo-French burjuner, Old French borjoner "to bud, sprout," from borjon "a bud, shoot, pimple" (Modern French bourgeon), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *burrionem (nominative *burrio), from Late Latin burra "flock of wool," itself of uncertain origin. Some sources (Kitchin, Gamillscheg) say either the French word or the Vulgar Latin one is from Germanic. The English verb is perhaps instead a native development from burjoin (n.) "a bud" (c.1300), from Old French. Related: Burgeoned; burgeoning.