US /ˈbɜrdʒɪs/ UK /ˈbɜːdʒɪs/
noun

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a citizen or freeman of a borough; a borough's representative in early legislatures

    Each burgess was elected to represent his town's interests.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a citizen or freeman of a... citizenfreemantownsmanburgherrepresentativecouncilman
Word family
Related forms boroughburgherburg

Etymology

From Old French burgeis ('town-dweller'), from Late Latin burgensis, from burgus ('fortified town'), itself from Proto-Germanic *burgz ('fort, town').

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