Etymology

burgh

B3U1R1G2H4

Today it means: A small mound, often used in reference to tumuli (mostly restricted to place names). Full definition →

Middle English borwe ← Old English burh ← Proto-West Germanic *burg
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burgh · noun1

  1. Proto-Germanic · derived from*burgz“city, stronghold”
  2. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*burg
  3. Old English · inherited fromburh
  4. Middle English · inherited fromborwe
  5. English todayburgh

From Middle English borwe, borgh, burgh, buruh, from Old English burh, from Proto-West Germanic *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“city, stronghold”). Cf. Strasbourg. Cognate with Dutch burg, French bourg, German Burg, Persian برج (borj, “tower; battlement, fort”), Swedish borg. Doublet of borough, Brough, and Bury.

Burgh · proper noun2

From the Anglo-Norman word burgh.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishborwe all →

boroughborrow

Old Englishburh all →

boroughMiddlesbroughburleyburrowbroughDewsburybirkAldeburghCanonburyAldboroughBerry Pomeroy-boro-borough-burghburhBurphamBurrough on the HillHemingbroughOnibury

Proto-West Germanic*burg all →

boroughburrowburgher

Proto-Germanic*burgz all →

boroughburgessburglarburgburrowbrochburgherburgessy

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.