U

burgess

noun

American History. a representative in the popular branch of the colonial legislature of Virginia or Maryland.
(formerly) a representative of a borough in the British Parliament.
Rare. an inhabitant of an English borough.

noun

Anthony,1917–93, English novelist and critic.
(Frank) Ge·lett [juh–let] /dʒəˈlɛt/, 1866–1951, U.S. illustrator and humorist.
Thornton Waldo,1874–1965, U.S. author, especially of children’s books.
a male given name.

noun

(in England)
1. a citizen or freeman of a borough
2. any inhabitant of a borough
English history a Member of Parliament from a borough, corporate town, or university
a member of the colonial assembly of Maryland or Virginia

noun

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)
Guy . 1911–63, British spy, who fled to the Soviet Union (with Donald Maclean) in 1951

c.1200, burgeis “citizen of a borough,” from Old French borjois (Modern French bourgeois), from Late Latin burgensis (see bourgeois). Applied from late 15c. to borough representatives in Parliament and used later in Virginia and other colonies used to denote members of the legislative body, while in Pennsylvania, etc., it meant “member of the governing council of a borough.”