English
borough
Borough comes from Proto-West Germanic *burg ‘city’, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰérǵʰs ‘something high up and fortified’, and ultimately from *bʰerǵʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-‘to be elevated, up high’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰérǵʰs‘something high up and fortified’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burgz‘stronghold, city’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*burg‘city’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150burh
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500borwe
- Englishearliest quotation 1963borough
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-‘to be elevated, up high’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰérǵʰs‘something high up and fortified’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burgz‘stronghold, city’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*burg‘city’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150burh
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500borwe
- Englishearliest quotation 1963borough
Earliest quotation: 1963, Margery Allingham, London: Chatto & Windus: “The highway to the East Coast which ran through…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to be elevated, up high’
force, comfortable, comfort, fort, berry, barrow, brie, brahmin, forcible, brahmana, burgher, bergh, bourguignon, 19 more
through Proto-Germanic *burgz ‘stronghold, city’
burgess, burglar, bourgeois, burg, broch, 3 more
through Proto-West Germanic *burg ‘city’
through Middle English borwe
Today it means
noun A town having a municipal corporation and certain traditional rights.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- / borough