English
burh
Burh comes from Old English burh ‘city or town’, from Proto-Germanic *burgz ‘fortification, stronghold’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to be elevated, up high’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-1‘to be elevated, up high’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰérǵʰs1‘something high up and fortified’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burgz2‘fortification, stronghold’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150burh3‘city or town’
- Englishtodayburh3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *burgz
- 2 Wiktionary, Old English burg
- 3 Wiktionary, English burh
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *burgz‘to be elevated, up high’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰérǵʰsWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *burgz‘something high up and fortified’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*burgzWiktionary, Old English burg‘fortification, stronghold’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150burhWiktionary, English burh‘city or town’
- EnglishtodayburhWiktionary, English burh
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- ‘to be elevated, up high’
force, comfortable, fort, berry, barrow, brie, forcible, brahmin, brahmana, bergh, bourguignon, burgher, 18 more
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰérǵʰs ‘something high up and fortified’
through Proto-Germanic *burgz ‘fortification, stronghold’
bourgeois, burgess, burglar, borgo, broch, burg, 3 more
through Old English burh ‘city or town’
Today it means
noun A fortified dwelling place belonging to a king or noble; a prehistoric fort.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “burh”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Germanic *burgz, Old English burg. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *bʰerǵʰ- / burh