burgess 1. A freeman or citizen of an English borough. 2. A member of the English Parliament who once represented a town, borough, or university. 3. A member of the lower house of the legislature of colonial Virginia or Maryland.

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English burgeis, from Old French, from Late Latin burgnsis, from burgus, fortified town.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton