Etymologically
Log in

burgeon

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 13 October 2026 at 10:08. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈbɜː.d͡ʒən/ (UK); /ˈbɝː.d͡ʒən/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English burjonen,[2][3] from Anglo-Norman burjuner and Old French borjoner (“to bud, sprout”),[3][4][5][2] from borjon “bud, shoot”,[3][5][2] a word of uncertain origin.[4][5] It is perhaps from Vulgar Latin *burriō, from Late Latin burra (“flock of wool, shaggy cloth”),[3][5][2][6] presumably from the down covering certain buds.[6] Some scholars derive the French word from Germanic instead.[5] Barnhart and Etymonline note that the English verb may have been formed from the earlier noun burjoin “bud”.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To bud or sprout; to begin to grow (about 1325).[7][5]

Semantic evolution

Both senses, “to bud” and “to grow or flourish”, date from the 14th century.[6][7] According to the OED, as quoted by Etymonline, the verb died out by the 18th century except as a gardening term and was revived in poetry in the early 19th.[5] Today the sense “to grow and flourish” is the more common.[6][3]

Timeline

  • before 1300 – noun, a bud or shoot.[7][4]
  • about 1325 – verb, to bud or sprout.[7][5]
  • 1382 – figurative, to burst forth, flourish.[7]
  • 18th century – largely out of use except in gardening.[5]
  • early 19th century – revived in poetry.[5]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To put out new buds, leaves or shoots; to sprout.
  2. To grow and expand quickly; to flourish.

Noun

  1. A bud or sprout.
  • bourgeon

Usage notes

Random House notes that the sense “to grow or flourish” sometimes draws objections, perhaps because of its popularity in journalism, although it is as old as the sense “to bud”.[6] The American Heritage Usage Panel's acceptance of the burgeoning population rose from 49 percent in 1969 to 74 percent, but only 29 percent accepted the public's appetite for them has burgeoned.[3]

References

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