(in certain states of the U.S.) an incorporated municipality smaller than a city.
2.
one of the five administrative divisions of New York City.
3.
British.
a.
an urban community incorporated by royal charter, similar to an incorporated city or municipality in the U.S.
b.
a town, area, or constituency represented by a Member of Parliament.
c.
(formerly) a fortified town organized as and having some of the powers of an independent country.
4.
(in Alaska) an administrative division similar to a county in other states.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME burw(e), borwg(h), borogh, bor(u)g, bur(u)g, burgh town, OE burg fortified town; c. ON borg, OS, D burg, G Burg castle, Goth baurgs city; MIr brí, brig, Welsh, Breton bre hill, Avestan bərəz- height; akin to Armenian bardzr, Hittite parkus high. See barrow2.]
O.E. burg, burh "castle, manor house, fortified place" (related to beorg "hill"), from P.Gmc. *burgs "fortress" (cf. O.N. borg "wall, castle," Ger. Burg "castle," Goth. baurgs "city"), from PIE *bhrgh "high," with derivatives referring to hills, hill forts, fortified elevations (cf. Welsh bera "stack, pyramid," Skt. bhrant-, Avestan brzant- "high," Gk. Pergamos, name of the citadel of Troy). In Ger. and O.N., chiefly as "fortress, castle;" in Goth. "town, civic community." Meaning shifted M.E. from "fortress," to "fortified town," to simply "town" (especially one possessing municipal organization or sending representatives to Parliament). In U.S. (originally Pennsylvania, 1718) often an incorporated town; in Alaska, however, it is the equivalent of a county. The Scot. form is burgh. The O.E. dative singular byrig is found in many place names as -bury.
Bar"row\, n. [OE. bergh, AS. beorg, beorh, hill, sepulchral mound; akin to G. berg mountain, Goth. bairgahei hill, hilly country, and perh. to Skr. b?hant high, OIr. brigh mountain. Cf. Berg, Berry a mound, and Borough an incorporated town.]1. A large mound of earth or stones over the remains of the dead; a tumulus. 2. (Mining) A heap of rubbish, attle, etc.
Bor"ough\, n. [OE. burgh, burw, boru, port, town, burrow, AS. burh, burg; akin to Icel., Sw., & Dan. borg, OS. & D. burg, OHG. puruc, purc, MHG. burc, G. burg, Goth. ba['u]rgs; and from the root of AS. beorgan to hide, save, defend, G. bergen; or perh. from that of AS. beorg hill, mountain. [root]95. See Bury, v. t., and cf. Burrow, Burg, Bury, n., Burgess, Iceberg, Borrow, Harbor, Hauberk.]1. In England, an incorporated town that is not a city; also, a town that sends members to parliament; in Scotland, a body corporate, consisting of the inhabitants of a certain district, erected by the sovereign, with a certain jurisdiction; in America, an incorporated town or village, as in Pennsylvania and Connecticut. --Burrill. Erskine. 2. The collective body of citizens or inhabitants of a borough; as, the borough voted to lay a tax. Close borough, or Pocket borough, a borough having the right of sending a member to Parliament, whose nomination is in the hands of a single person. Rotten borough, a name given to any borough which, at the time of the passage of the Reform Bill of 1832, contained but few voters, yet retained the privilege of sending a member to Parliament.
Bor"ough\, n. [See Borrow.] (O. Eng. Law) (a) An association of men who gave pledges or sureties to the king for the good behavior of each other. (b) The pledge or surety thus given. --Blackstone. Tomlins.
Bor"row\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Borrowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Borrowing.] [OE. borwen, AS. borgian, fr. borg, borh, pledge; akin to D. borg, G. borg; prob. fr. root of AS. beorgan to protect. ?95. See 1st Borough.]1. To receive from another as a loan, with the implied or expressed intention of returning the identical article or its equivalent in kind; -- the opposite of lend. 2. (Arith.) To take (one or more) from the next higher denomination in order to add it to the next lower; -- a term of subtraction when the figure of the subtrahend is larger than the corresponding one of the minuend. 3. To copy or imitate; to adopt; as, to borrow the style, manner, or opinions of another. Rites borrowed from the ancients. --Macaulay. It is not hard for any man, who hath a Bible in his hands, to borrow good words and holy sayings in abundance; but to make them his own is a work of grace only from above. --Milton. 4. To feign or counterfeit. "Borrowed hair." --Spenser. The borrowed majesty of England. --Shak. 5. To receive; to take; to derive. Any drop thou borrowedst from thy mother. --Shak. To borrow trouble, to be needlessly troubled; to be overapprehensive.
Bors"hold`er\, n. [OE. borsolder; prob. fr. AS. borg, gen. borges, pledge + ealdor elder. See Borrow, and Elder, a.] (Eng. Law) The head or chief of a tithing, or borough (see 2d Borough); the headborough; a parish constable. --Spelman.
Bur"gess\, n. [OE. burgeis, OF. burgeis, fr. burcfortified town, town, F. bourg village, fr. LL. burgus fort, city; from the German; cf. MHG. burc, G. burg. See 1st Borough, and cf. 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. Note: "A burgess of a borough corresponds with a citizen of a city." --Burrill. 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. Note: Before the Revolution, the representatives in the popular branch of the legislature of Virginia were called burgesses; they are now called delegates. Burgess oath. See Burgher, 2.
Bur"glar\, n. [OE. burg town, F. bourg, fr. LL. burgus (of German origin) + OF. lere thief, fr. L. latro. See Borough, and Larceny.] (Law) One guilty of the crime of burglary. Burglar alarm, a device for giving alarm if a door or window is opened from without.
Bur"go*mas`ter\, n. [D. burgemeester; burg borough + meester master; akin to G. burgemeister, b["u]rgermeister. See 1st Borough, and Master.]1. A chief magistrate of a municipal town in Holland, Flanders, and Germany, corresponding to mayor in England and the United States; a burghmaster. 2. (Zo["o]l.) An aquatic bird, the glaucous gull (Larus glaucus), common in arctic regions.
Bur"row\, n. [See 1st Borough.]1. An incorporated town. See 1st Borough. 2. A shelter; esp. a hole in the ground made by certain animals, as rabbits, for shelter and habitation. 3. (Mining) A heap or heaps of rubbish or refuse. 4. A mound. See 3d Barrow, and Camp, n., 5.
Bur"row\, n. [See 1st Borough.]1. An incorporated town. See 1st Borough. 2. A shelter; esp. a hole in the ground made by certain animals, as rabbits, for shelter and habitation. 3. (Mining) A heap or heaps of rubbish or refuse. 4. A mound. See 3d Barrow, and Camp, n., 5.
Bur"y\ (b[e^]r"r[y^]), n. [See 1st Borough.]1. A borough; a manor; as, the Bury of St. Edmond's; Note: used as a termination of names of places; as, Canterbury, Shrewsbury. 2. A manor house; a castle. [Prov. Eng.] To this very day, the chief house of a manor, or the lord's seat, is called bury, in some parts of England. --Miege.
Close\, a. [Compar. Closer; superl. Closest.] [Of. & F. clos, p. p. of clore. See Close, v. t.]1. Shut fast; closed; tight; as, a close box. From a close bower this dainty music flowed. --Dryden. 2. Narrow; confined; as, a close alley; close quarters. "A close prison." --Dickens. 3. Oppressive; without motion or ventilation; causing a feeling of lassitude; -- said of the air, weather, etc. If the rooms be low-roofed, or full of windows and doors, the one maketh the air close, . . . and the other maketh it exceeding unequal. --Bacon. 4. Strictly confined; carefully quarded; as, a close prisoner. 5. Out of the way observation; secluded; secret; hidden. "He yet kept himself close because of Saul." --1 Chron. xii. 1 "Her close intent." --Spenser. 6. Disposed to keep secrets; secretive; reticent. "For servecy, no lady closer." --Shak. 7. Having the parts near each other; dense; solid; compact; as applied to bodies; viscous; tenacious; not volatile, as applied to liquids. The golden globe being put into a press, . . . the water made itself way through the pores of that very close metal. --Locke. 8. Concise; to the point; as, close reasoning. "Where the original is close no version can reach it in the same compass." --Dryden. 9. Adjoining; near; either in space; time, or thought; -- often followed by to. Plant the spring crocuses close to a wall. --Mortimer. The thought of the Man of sorrows seemed a very close thing -- not a faint hearsay. --G. Eliot. 10. Short; as, to cut grass or hair close. 11. Intimate; familiar; confidential. League with you I seek And mutual amity, so strait, so close, That I with you must dwell, or you with me. --Milton. 12. Nearly equal; almost evenly balanced; as, a close vote. "A close contest." --Prescott. 13. Difficult to obtain; as, money is close. --Bartlett. 14. Parsimonious; stingy. "A crusty old fellow, as close as a vise." --Hawthorne. 15. Adhering strictly to a standard or original; exact; strict; as, a close translation. --Locke. 16. Accurate; careful; precise; also, attentive; undeviating; strict; not wandering; as, a close observer. 17. (Phon.) Uttered with a relatively contracted opening of the mouth, as certain sounds of e and o in French, Italian, and German; -- opposed to open. Close borough. See under Borough. Close breeding. See under Breeding. Close communion, communion in the Lord's supper, restricted to those who have received baptism by immersion. Close corporation, a body or corporation which fills its own vacancies. Close fertilization. (Bot.) See Fertilization. Close harmony (Mus.), compact harmony, in which the tones composing each chord are not widely distributed over several octaves. Close time, a fixed period during which killing game or catching certain fish is prohibited by law. Close vowel (Pron.), a vowel which is pronounced with a diminished aperture of the lips, or with contraction of the cavity of the mouth. Close to the wind (Naut.), directed as nearly to the point from which the wind blows as it is possible to sail; closehauled; -- said of a vessel.
Pock"et\, n. [OE. poket, Prov. F. & OF. poquette, F. pochette, dim. fr. poque, pouque, F. poche; probably of Teutonic origin. See Poke a pocket, and cf. Poach to cook eggs, to plunder, and Pouch.]1. A bag or pouch; especially; a small bag inserted in a garment for carrying small articles, particularly money; hence, figuratively, money; wealth. 2. One of several bags attached to a billiard table, into which the balls are driven. 3. A large bag or sack used in packing various articles, as ginger, hops, cowries, etc. Note: In the wool or hop trade, the pocket contains half a sack, or about 168 Ibs.; but it is a variable quantity, the articles being sold by actual weight. 4. (Arch.) A hole or space covered by a movable piece of board, as in a floor, boxing, partitions, or the like. 5. (Mining.) (a) A cavity in a rock containing a nugget of gold, or other mineral; a small body of ore contained in such a cavity. (b) A hole containing water. 6. (Nat.) A strip of canvas, sewn upon a sail so that a batten or a light spar can placed in the interspace. 7. (Zo["o]l.) Same as Pouch. Note: Pocket is often used adjectively, or in the formation of compound words usually of obvious signification; as, pocket comb, pocket compass, pocket edition, pocket handkerchief, pocket money, pocket picking, or pocket-picking, etc. Out of pocket. See under Out, prep. Pocket borough, a borough "owned" by some person. See under Borough. [Eng.] Pocket gopher (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of American rodents of the genera Geomys, and Thomomys, family Geomyd[ae]. They have large external cheek pouches, and are fossorial in their habits. they inhabit North America, from the Mississippi Valley west to the Pacific. Called also pouched gopher. Pocket mouse (Zo["o]l.), any species of American mice of the family Saccomyid[ae]. They have external cheek pouches. Some of them are adapted for leaping (genus Dipadomys), and are called kangaroo mice. They are native of the Southwestern United States, Mexico, etc. Pocket piece, a piece of money kept in the pocket and not spent. Pocket pistol, a pistol to be carried in the pocket. Pocket sheriff (Eng. Law), a sheriff appointed by the sole authority of the crown, without a nomination by the judges in the exchequer. --Burrill.
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