burgeon
or bour·geon
[ bur-juhn ]
/ ˈbɜr dʒən /
verb (used without object)
to grow or develop quickly; flourish: The town burgeoned into a city. He burgeoned into a fine actor.
to begin to grow, as a bud; put forth buds, shoots, etc., as a plant (often followed by out, forth).
verb (used with object)
to put forth, as buds.
noun
a bud; sprout.
Origin of burgeon
1275–1325; (noun) Middle English
burjon, burion shoot, bud < Anglo-French
burjun,
burg(e)on; Old French
burjon < Vulgar Latin
*burriōne(m), accusative of
*burriō, derivative of Late Latin
burra wool, fluff (cf.
bourrée,
bureau), presumably from the down covering certain buds; (v.) Middle English
burg(e)onen,
borgen < Anglo-French, Old French, derivative of the noun
usage note for burgeon
The two senses of
burgeon, “to bud” (
The maples are burgeoning ) and “to grow or flourish” (
The suburbs around the city have been burgeoning under the impact of commercial growth ), date from the 14th century. Today the sense “to grow or flourish” is the more common. Occasionally, objections are raised to the use of this sense, perhaps because of its popularity in journalistic writing.
Words nearby burgeon
Example sentences from the Web for burgeoning
British Dictionary definitions for burgeoning
burgeon
bourgeon
/ (ˈbɜːdʒən) /
verb
(often foll by forth or out)
(of a plant) to sprout (buds)
(intr ; often foll by forth or out)
to develop or grow rapidly; flourish
noun
a bud of a plant
Word Origin for burgeon
C13: from Old French
burjon, perhaps ultimately from Late Latin
burra shaggy cloth; from the downiness of certain buds