borough

Use Borough in a sentence

noun

(in certain states of the U.S.) an incorporated municipality smaller than a city.

one of the five administrative divisions of New York City.

British.

an urban community incorporated by royal charter, similar to an incorporated city or municipality in the U.S.

a town, area, or constituency represented by a Member of Parliament.

(formerly) a fortified town organized as and having some of the powers of an independent country.

(in Alaska) an administrative division similar to a county in other states.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English burw(e), borwg(h), borogh, bor(u)g, bur(u)g, burgh town, Old English burg fortified town; cognate with Old Norse borg, Old Saxon, Dutch burg, German Burg castle, Gothic baurgs city; MIr brí, brig, Welsh, Breton bre hill, Avestan bərəz- height; akin to Armenian bardzr, Hittite parkus high. See barrow².

Can be confused: borough, burro, burrow.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To borough

00:10

Borough is always a great word to know.

So is zedonk. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Collins

World English Dictionary

borough (ˈbʌrə)

—n
1.	See also burgh a town, esp (in Britain) one that forms the constituency of an MP or that was originally incorporated by royal charter
2.	any of the 32 constituent divisions that together with the City of London make up Greater London
3.	any of the five constituent divisions of New York City
4.	(in the US) a self-governing incorporated municipality
5.	(in medieval England) a fortified town or village or a fort
6.	(in New Zealand) a small municipality with a governing body

[Old English burg; related to beorgan to shelter, Old Norse borg wall, Gothic baurgs city, Old High German burg fortified castle]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

borough

O.E. burg, burh "fortified place, walled town, dwelling or dwellings within a fortified enclosure," from P.Gmc. *burgs "hill fort, fortress" (cf. O.Fris. burg "castle," O.N. borg "wall, castle," O.H.G. burg, buruc "fortified place, citadel," Ger. Burg "castle," Goth. baurgs "city"), from PIE *bhrgh "high,"

with derivatives referring to hills, hill forts, fortified elevations (cf. O.E. beorg "hill," 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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

borough

in Great Britain, incorporated town with special privileges or a district entitled to elect a member of Parliament.

Learn more about borough with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

More serious crimes requiring a more severe sentence will still be tried in the borough's central criminal court.

The ex-butler had obtained a small freehold there likewise, which gave him a vote for the borough.

Make a list of the tourist sites that you want to visit and group them by borough.

Each borough would be largely autonomous in determining its character and its leaders.

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Matching Quote

"I can think of many amusing parallels. For example, "the Borough of ... announces: Miss Jones, the splendid principal of our grammar school, has been offered the position of cook and housekeeper by the family next door, and so we feel obliged to dismiss her and make room for one of the young girls just graduated from training college. Miss Jones may not care to be a cook but since she has that privilege we don't think it right for her to continue to teach, valuable as her services are to the community." Or, "the Educational Committee of ... Borough has adopted a rule to employ no more men teachers who have vegetable gardens, and to notify those men now in its employ who possess vegetable gardens or are contemplating acquiring one that they will be dismissed. We are actuated by the following reasons: (1) The place of a man with a vegetable garden is at home working in his garden. (2) We feel, as a general rule, that a man with a vegetable garden will, to some extent, suffer in his efficiency as a teacher. We have no evidence of this; in fact the vegetable gardeners whom we are about to dismiss are among our best teachers, but nevertheless, we feel that as a general policy our rule is sound from an educational standpoint. (3) A man with a garden will not starve. Therefore, it is unfair to continue paying him a salary as a teacher while men who have no vegetable gardens are waiting for posts [ellipses in original]."

-Crystal Eastman

borough

bor·ough