English
burgh
Burgh 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‘city, stronghold’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*burg‘city’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150burh
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500borwe
- Englishearliest quotation 1953burgh
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‘city, stronghold’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*burg‘city’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150burh
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500borwe
- Englishearliest quotation 1953burgh
Earliest quotation: 1953, C. S. Lewis, Collins: “This road leads to the burgh and castle of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to be elevated, up high’
force, comfortable, fort, berry, barrow, brie, forcible, brahmin, brahmana, bourguignon, bergh, 22 more
through Proto-Germanic *burgz ‘city, stronghold’
bourgeois, burgess, burglar, broch, 4 more
through Proto-West Germanic *burg ‘city’
through Middle English borwe
Today it means
noun a small mound, often used in reference to tumuli (mostly restricted to place names).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- / burgh