burgher
/ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)/noun
burgher is spelled B-U-R-G-H-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 81,375th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, burgher means “A citizen of a borough or town, especially one belonging to the middle class” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of burgher is burghers.
How many letters and syllables are in burgher?
| Letters | 7: B-U-R-G-H-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 81,375th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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 burgher?
Burgher appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 81,375th 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 burgher?
- /ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)/
Burgher 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-burgher.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with burgher
Sounds like: burger (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: burger.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of burgher
- burghers plural
- burger
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does burgher mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A citizen of a borough or town, especially one belonging to the middle class.
- 2
A member of the medieval mercantile class.
- 3
A citizen of a medieval city.
- 4
A prosperous member of the community; a middle-class citizen (may connote complacency).
noun
- 1
A member of a mixed-race ethnic group of Sri Lanka, consisting of descendants of European colonists and local people.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Burgher in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 burgher come from?
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.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).