borough English · revision 16156

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 725, Beowulf|origins=gem-pro *burgs}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈbʌ.ɹə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈbʌɹ.oʊ/, /ˈbɝ.oʊ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|burgh]] (also [[m|enm|borugh]]), [[inh|ang|burg]] (also [[m|ang|burh]], "fortress, fortified town"),^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*burgs|t=hill fort, fortress]],^(Etymonline)^(Ayto 2005)^(Hoad 1986) cognate with [[ofs|burch]], [[osx|burg]], [[goh|burug]] (modern [[de|Burg|t=castle]]), [[non|borg|t=wall, castle]] and [[got|𐌱𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌲𐍃|tr=baurgs|t=city]].^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) Its further origin is debated: Hoad, the OED and Ayto relate it to [[gem-pro|*berganą|t=to shelter, protect]],^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 2026)^(Ayto 2005) the source of ''[[bury]]'' and ''[[borrow]]'',^(Ayto 2005)^(SOED 2002) though the OED notes problems with the sounds;^(OED 2026) Watkins, Klein and Merriam-Webster derive it from [[ine-pro|*bʰerǵʰ-|t=high]], related to ''[[barrow]]'' and [[de|Berg|t=mountain]].^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024)^(Ayto 2005)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English ''burg'' and ''burh'', city or fortress, are recorded about 725, in ''[[Beowulf]]''.^(Barnhart 1988) The OED's earliest sense, a fortress or citadel, is rare even in Old English.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Weekley compares the extension of the meaning from castle or manor-house to town with that of ''town'' itself and [[fr|ville]].^(Weekley 1921) A fortified town, or any town larger than a village, was the Old English sense (to 1520).^(OED 2026) From 1512 a borough was a town with a municipal corporation and privileges granted by royal charter,^(OED 2026)^(Hoad 1986) or one that sent members to Parliament,^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023) hence ''to own a borough'', to control its election (1771).^(OED 2026) Other uses followed: an incorporated town in the US (1718), each of the five divisions of New York City (1897), and the administrative districts of Greater London (1899).^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023) Middle English ''burgbriche'', the crime of breaking the peace or of burglary, is recorded in 1235.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 725 – ''burg'', city, fortress.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1175 – a court or manor-house (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * before 1350 – the spelling ''borough''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1512 – a chartered town.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1718 – an incorporated town (US).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1897 – a division of New York City.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1899 – a district of Greater London.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # In Britain, a town with its own [[council]] or one that was given privileges by royal [[charter]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An administrative district of [[London]], or one of the five divisions of [[New York City]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # In the US, an [[incorporate|alt=incorporated]] town or village.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[interborough]]

+ * [[Peterborough]]

+ * [[Foxborough]]

+ * [[Marlborough]]

+ * [[borough hall]]

+ * [[rotten borough]]

+ * [[borough English]]

+ * [[pocket borough]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Brough]]

+ * [[burg]]

+ * [[burgh]]

+ * [[bourgeois]]

+ * [[burglar]]

+ * [[bury]]

+ * [[barrow]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}