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bourgeois

Etymology and origin of the English word bourgeois

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbɔːʒ.wɑː/, /ˈbʊəʒ.wɑː/ (UK); /bʊɹʒˈwɑː/, /ˈbʊɹʒ.wɑː/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French bourgeois,[2][3][4][5][6] from Old French burgeis, borjois “town dweller”,[2][3][4][5] from borc “town”,[3][4] from Late Latin burgus (“fortress”), influenced by Germanic words such as Frankish *burg.[3][4][5] It is a doublet of burgess.[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, of or belonging to the French middle class (1564–65).[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

As a noun the word first meant a French citizen or freeman of a town, as distinct from a peasant or a gentleman (before 1674).[7][4][5] It was extended to tradespeople of middle rank in other nations,[4] and from 1764 to people of conventional middle-class manners and taste.[7][4] In communist and socialist writing a bourgeois is a capitalist, an exploiter of the proletariat (1883).[7][4] Bourgeoisie dates from 1707.[3] A separate bourgeois (1824), pronounced differently, is a size of printing type.[7][6]

Timeline

  • 1564–65 – adjective, of the French middle class.[7][3]
  • before 1674 – noun, a French townsman.[7][5]
  • 1707 – bourgeoisie.[3]
  • 1764 – conventional, middle-class in taste.[7][4]
  • 1883 – a capitalist, in socialist writing.[7][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A member of the middle class.
  2. A person whose attitudes are marked by conformity to middle-class conventions and material values.
  3. (Marxism) A member of the property-owning class; a capitalist.

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to or typical of the middle class.
  2. Preoccupied with respectability and material values; conventional.
  3. Dominated by commercial and industrial interests; capitalistic.

Word family

  • embourgeoisement
  • bourgeoise
  • bourgeoisie
  • petit bourgeois
  • burgess
  • borough
  • burgher

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Bourgeois.” Etymologically, 11 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/bourgeois. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·