burgess
/ˈbɜːd͡ʒɪs/noun
burgess is spelled B-U-R-G-E-S-S: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, burgess means “An inhabitant of a borough with full rights; a citizen” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of burgess is burgesses.
How many letters and syllables are in burgess?
| Letters | 7: B-U-R-G-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is burgess?
Burgess appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce burgess?
- UK /ˈbɜːd͡ʒɪs/
Burgess has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-burgess.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of burgess
- burgesses plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does burgess mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An inhabitant of a borough with full rights; a citizen.
- 2
A town magistrate.
- 3
UKA representative of a borough in the Parliament.
- 4
USA member of the House of Burgesses, a legislative body in colonial America, established by the Virginia Company to provide civil rule in the colonies.
- 5
A person who pays municipal taxes, a ratepayer.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Burgess in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense inhabitant of a borough with full rights:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Bürger, (historical)Bürgerin |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does burgess come from?
From Middle English burgeis, from Anglo-Norman burgeis (“town-dweller”), of Proto-Germanic origin; either from Late Latin burgensis (from Latin burgus), or from Frankish *burg, both from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“stronghold, city”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ-. See also borough, bourgeois, burgish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).