burgess Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun English writer of satirical novels (1917-1993)
    Anthony Burgess.
  2. noun a citizen of an English borough
    burgher.

WordNet

Bur"gess noun
Etymology
OE. burgeis, OF. burgeis, fr. burcfortified town, town, F. bourg village, fr. LL. burgus fort, city; from the German; cf. MHG. burc, G. burg. See 1st Borough, and cf. 2d Bourgeois.
Definitions
  1. An inhabitant of a borough or walled town, or one who possesses a tenement therein; a citizen or freeman of a borough. Blackstone. ✍ "A burgess of a borough corresponds with a citizen of a city." Burrill.
  2. One who represents a borough in Parliament.
  3. A magistrate of a borough.
  4. An inhabitant of a Scotch burgh qualified to vote for municipal officers. ✍ Before the Revolution, the representatives in the popular branch of the legislature of Virginia were called burgesses; they are now called delegates.

Webster 1913