(a) A town, a city; also, a small village; (b) in various fig. senses: ~ of bale, hell; ~ of heven, the celestial city; middelerdes ~, worldes ~, the world; (c) hegh ~, great city; heved ~, capital city; holi ~, Jerusalem; (d) in ~ and in feld (upon lond), etc., in town and country, everywhere; in ~ nether in sale, in borough nor in hall, ?in public nor in private.

(a) A town with municipal organization and with privileges granted by the king, a chartered borough [several quots. in 1. (a) no doubt refer to this type of borough]; (b) binnen ~ and bouten, within and without the corporate limits of a borough; (c) a town which sends representatives to Parliament, a borough.

(a) A castle, stronghold, fortified dwelling; also, a small tower defending a strategic spot; (b) a dwelling, mansion; property within a town; (c) ?a region; (d) refuge, protection [cp. OE gebeorg].

(a) In personal names; (b) in place names; (c) used with ref. to Peterborough, Medeshamstede.

In cpds. and cmbs.: (a) ~ bold, castle, palace; (b) ~ dom, judgment in a city court; (c) burgh(es) gate, gate of a town [OE burg-geat]; (d) burghes heved, chief officer of a town; (e) burgh(es) nede, a town's needs; (f) burgh(es) toun, a fortified town; a chartered borough; a town or city [OE burgtūn]; (g) ~ folk, people of a town, townsmen; (h) ~ herd, a town herdsman; (i) ~ knave, one of the boys of a town; (j) ~ knight, ?a knight belonging to the garrison of a castle or town [?error for bour knight]; (k) ~ man, townsman, citizen [OE burh-mann, byrig-mann]; also a soldier of a town; (l) ~ reve, governor or chief officer of a town [OE burg-gerēfa]; (m) ~ stathel, foundation of a wall [OE burgstaðol]; (n) ~ swin, a city hog; (o) ~ thein, ?a thane living in a town [cp. OE burgþegn]; -- prob. error for bour thein; (p) ~ walles, walls surrounding a city or town [OE burgw(e)al(l]; (q) ~ were(n, inhabitants of a town [OE burgwaru, -waran]; (r) burhene lavedi, the lady of a city wife of the governor of a city.

In cpds. and cmbs.: ~ halfpeni (peni), a tax of some kind levied on a borough, or the right to levy such a tax.

Law (a) ~ bot, the obligation to keep walls of towns or fortifications in repair; the tax levied for this purpose [OE burgbōt]; (b) ~ briche, the offense of breaking into a castle or dwelling; the fine for this offense [OE burgbryce]; the penalty for breaking into (or disturbing the peace in) a city; ?an offense of a citizen against his town [quot.: a1315]; (c) ~ engloies, a rare type of tenure by which property is inherited by the youngest son; ?~ francoies, tenure involving primogeniture; -- used only as opposite of ~ engloies; (d) ~ mal, ~ mel, a rent or tax of some kind; (e) ~ mot, an assembly of townsmen at which the legal business of the town is transacted [OE burg-gemōt]; ~ motehorn, horn used in connection with such a meeting; (f) ~ right, some kind of rent or tax [?cp. OE burgriht].