burgher

/ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)/

//ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"burgher" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“burgher” is uncommon English (frequency #81,190 among 4,121 “B” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#81,190
frequency rank, English
4,121
“B” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A citizen of a borough or town, especially one belonging to the middle class.

Corpus desk

Index EN-burgher · burgher · English

burgher · rank #81,190 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #81,190
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,121
  • PHOTO-FINISH burdock

Nearest frequency peer: burdock (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “burgher”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “burgher” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for burgher
PropertyValue
Headwordburgher
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#81,190
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “burgher” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).burgherfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “burdock” (#81,189), “bursitis” (#81,191), “BUC” (#81,188). Among 4,121 “B” headwords, “burgher” is #81,190. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

burgher is uncommon English at frequency #81,190 among 4,121 “B” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for burgher, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English burger, burgher, burghere, equivalent to burgh + -er (“inhabitant of”). Likely merged with and reinforced by Middle Dutch burgher (Modern Dutch: burger); from Middle High German burger (Modern German: Bürger); from Old High German burgār… The correct English form is burgher, spelled B-U-R-G-H-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A citizen of a borough or town, especially one belonging to the middle class.
  2. 2
    A citizen of a borough or town, especially one belonging to the middle class.
  3. 3
    A prosperous member of the community; a middle-class citizen (may connote complacency).

Etymology

From Middle English burger, burgher, burghere, equivalent to burgh + -er (“inhabitant of”). Likely merged with and reinforced by Middle Dutch burgher (Modern Dutch: burger); from Middle High German burger (Modern German: Bürger); from Old High German burgāri (“inhabitant of a fortress”); derivative of burg (“fortress, citadel”), from Proto-West Germanic *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- (“fortified elevation”). Compare also Old English burgwaras (“inhabitants of a burg, burghers, citizens”) and Serbo-Croatian purger. More at borough.

This word in other languages

bourgeois(Français)Bürger(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "burgher"?
"burgher" is spelled B-U-R-G-H-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)/.
What does "burgher" mean?
As a noun, "burgher" means: A citizen of a borough or town, especially one belonging to the middle class.
How do you pronounce "burgher"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "burgher" is /ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "burgher"?
From Middle English burger, burgher, burghere, equivalent to burgh + -er (“inhabitant of”). Likely merged with and reinforced by Middle Dutch burgher (Modern Dutch: burger); from Middle High German burger (Modern German: Bürger); from Old High Ger... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "burgher", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

burdock#81,189bricker#81,182Bramall#81,180bossman#81,178

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list