burgh

[ burg; Scots buhr-oh, buhr-uh ]

noun
  1. (in Scotland) an incorporated town having its own charter and some degree of political independence from the surrounding area.

  2. Archaic. borough.

Origin of burgh

1
1350–1400; late Middle English (Scots); see borough; cf. broch

Other words from burgh

  • burgh·al [bur-guhl], /ˈbɜr gəl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use burgh in a sentence

  • But we must keep these ancient boroughs well apart from any royal manors which the king has newly raised to burghal rank.

    Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William Maitland
  • There has come down to us in a sadly degenerate form a document which we shall hereafter call The Burghal Hidage.

    Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William Maitland
  • Markets are being held and market-tolls are being taken in many vills which are not of burghal rank.

    Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William Maitland
  • This is proved by The Burghal Hidage of which we spoke above, p. 187, and shall speak again hereafter.

    Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William Maitland
  • In Gloucestershire is Gloucester, but Winchcombe also asserts its burghal rank.

    Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William Maitland

British Dictionary definitions for burgh

burgh

/ (ˈbʌrə) /


noun
  1. (in Scotland) a town, esp one incorporated by charter, that enjoyed a degree of self-government until the local-government reorganization of 1975

  2. an archaic form of borough (def. 1)

Origin of burgh

1
C14: Scottish form of borough

Derived forms of burgh

  • burghal (ˈbɜːɡəl), adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012