burgess — ozdic

Definitions

noun

1

An inhabitant of a borough with full rights; a citizen.

In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass. In this way all respectable burgesses, down to fifty years ago, spent their evenings.

If any burgess be appealed of a plea whereon wager of battle may issue by a villein or outdweller , let him defend himself by oath, that is to say by the 36 men, unless he is challenged in respect of a crime that the law requires him to defend by battle, in no case ought a burgess to fight against a villein if he have challenged him unless before the dispute he shall have quitted the burgage.

2

A town magistrate.

3

A representative of a borough in the Parliament.

4

A member of the House of Burgesses, a legislative body in colonial America, established by the Virginia Company to provide civil rule in the colonies.

name

1

A surname transferred from the common noun.

2

A number of places in the United States:

3

A number of places in the United States:

4

A number of places in the United States:

5

A number of places in the United States:

Collocations

0

Thesaurus

Synonyms

noun — a citizen of an English borough

burgher

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

Example Bank

2

01

In former days every tavern of repute kept such a room for its own select circle, a club, or society, of habitués, who met every evening, for a pipe and a cheerful glass. In this way all respectable b

Wiktionary

02

If any burgess be appealed of a plea whereon wager of battle may issue by a villein or outdweller , let him defend himself by oath, that is to say by the 36 men, unless he is challenged in respect of

Wiktionary

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, burgess is marked as historical, UK, US. Watch for register when choosing this word.