Burgess
Burgess ({not transcribed}) , noun
[Old English burgeis, Old French burgeis, from burcfortified town, town, French bourg village, from Late Latin burgus fort, city; from the German; compare Middle High German burc, German burg. See 1st Borough, and compare 2d Bourgeois.]
1.
An inhabitant of a borough or walled town, or one who possesses a tenement therein; a citizen or freeman of a borough. — Blackstone
“A burgess of a borough corresponds with a citizen of a city.”
2.
One who represents a borough in Parliament.
3.
A magistrate of a borough.
4.
An inhabitant of a Scotch burgh qualified to vote for municipal officers.
Before the Revolution, the representatives in the popular branch of the legislature of Virginia were called burgesses; they are now called delegates.
Collocations (1)
Burgess oath , See Burgher, 2.