Where does “burgess” come from?
Burgess comes from Anglo-Norman burgeis, a term for a town dweller or citizen with rights in a borough or fortified settlement.
burgess (English): An inhabitant of a borough with full rights; a...
Definitions
- An inhabitant of a borough with full rights; a...
Ancestry of “burgess”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | burgeis | — |
| 2 | Old French | borgeis | town dweller |
| 3 | Old French | -eis | used to form nationalities; used to form names of... |
| 4 | Vulgar Latin | -iscus | -ish |
| 5 | Latin | -ensis | Of or from |
| 6 | Latin | arvum | field; farm land |
| 7 | Latin | colō | to cultivate the land, till, tend, take care of a field or garden |
| 8 | Latin | quelō | — |
| 9 | Proto-Italic | kʷelō | to inhabit |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷéleti | — |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | kʷel- | to turn |