Etymograph

English

bourgeoisie

Bourgeoisie comes from French bourgeois ‘a class of citizens who were wealthier members…’, and goes back to Old French borgeis ‘town dweller’.

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400borgeis1‘town dweller’
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bourgois1
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentbourgeois2‘a class of citizens who were wealthier members of the Third Estate’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentbourgeoisie2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1989bourgeoisie2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French bourgeois
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English bourgeoisie
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, 1988 October, Triumph and Tragedy: A Portrait of I.V. Stalin: “The Pharisees of the bourgeoisie love the saying: de…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Old Frenchc. 842–1400borgeisWiktionary, French bourgeois‘town dweller’
  2. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600bourgoisWiktionary, French bourgeois
  3. Frenchc. 1600–presentbourgeoisWiktionary, English bourgeoisie‘a class of citizens who were wealthier members of the Third Estate’
  4. Frenchc. 1600–presentbourgeoisieWiktionary, English bourgeoisie
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1989bourgeoisieWiktionary, English bourgeoisie. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1989, 1988 October, Triumph and Tragedy: A Portrait of I.V. Stalin: “The Pharisees of the bourgeoisie love the saying: de…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to be elevated, up high’

force, comfortable, fort, berry, barrow, brie, forcible, brahmin, brahmana, bergh, burgher, bourguignon, 20 more

through Proto-Germanic *burgz ‘fortification, stronghold’

broch, 4 more

through Proto-West Germanic *burg ‘fortification’

borough, burgh, 1 more

through Latin burgus ‘fort’

burglar, burg, borgo, 1 more

through Late Latin burgensis ‘pertaining to a town or city’

burgess, 3 more

Today it means

noun A class of citizens who were wealthier members of the third estate.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “bourgeoisie”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French bourgeois. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Old French borgeis / bourgeoisie

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