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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

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

September 5, made burgess and guild-brother of Edinburgh.

From Benjamin Franklin Representative selections, with introduction, bibliograpy, and notes by Chester E. Jorgenson

It is too much that, in 1884, a duly-elected and properly-qualified burgess of Parliament should be shut outside by such votes.

From The True Story of my Parliamentary Struggle by Charles Bradlaugh

It was probably exhaustive, and may therefore be taken as indicating with tolerable precision the standard of household comfort of a London burgess at that time.

From Household Administration Its Place in the Higher Education of Women by Various

Britt, from Burgess Hill in West Sussex, describes how groups of riders on powerful electric motorbikes regularly race through the streets.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Taylor, 20, is also from Burgess Hill and was riding his legal motorbike to work one day when he overtook two bikes as they pulled out from a junction.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Alaska is joining a list of famed comedic actors who have played Mary Todd Lincoln, including Maya Rudolph, Meg Stalter, Tituss Burgess and Jane Krakowski.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

High rates of humidity were one of the reasons why the June heatwave was so intense, Burgess said.

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

Padva’s costumes and Mr. Barris’s feats of engineering are obvious, the mark of the Burgess sisters is more subtle, though it permeates almost every aspect of the circus.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

Related Words

• inhabitant
• national
• resident
• taxpayer