Burger and burgher are commonly confused words that are pronounced in the same way but are spelled differently and have different meanings, which makes them homophones. We will examine the different meanings of the homophonic words burger and burgher, the word origins of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences.
A burger is a ground patty used in cooking. Typically, a burger is made of beef, but the term has been applied to turkey, soy, etc. The word burger is an abbreviation of the word hamburger and has been used in American English since the 1930s.
A burgher is someone who lives in a town or borough. Usually, a burgher is a prosperous member of the middle class. In Sri Lanka, the word Burgher is capitalized and means an ethnic group that is descended from Europeans. The word burgher comes from the Dutch word, burgher, and means from the castle.
Examples
This 30-year old fast-casual burger chain announced this week that it has signed a deal to open three new locations in the Memphis area. (Commercial Appeal)
These easy chicken burgers are topped with the works: lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard and crispy barbecue-flavored potato chips. (Good Housekeeping Magazine)
The inept but much-reproduced engraving on the front of the First Folio cartoonishly depicts a plump, “drastically bald” (Charles Nicholl) man whose giant head rests on a white collar as if on a platter; while the quill-clutching genius of Stratford’s memorial bust has been widely mocked as resembling a dyspeptic local burgher doing his accounts. (The Guardian)
’Just Call me Dennis’, a biography of a living sports legend penned by Nilanga Jayawickrema, was launched at the Burgher Recreation Club amongst an august gathering. (Sunday Times)
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