burgher

== English == === Alternative forms === burger === 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. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ)/ Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)ɡə(ɹ) Homophone: burger === Noun === burgher (plural burghers) A citizen of a borough or town, especially one belonging to the middle class. A member of the medieval mercantile class. A citizen of a medieval city. A prosperous member of the community; a middle-class citizen (may connote complacency). ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ====