Bourgeois
/ˌbʊər.ʒwɑː/noun
A member of the middle class, especially one regarded as conventional or materialistic.
Did you know?The word passed through medieval French from a term for someone who lived in a fortified town, so its social meaning grew out of the old divide between city walls and the countryside.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*burgz
“a fortified place or stronghold”
Old English
OE
burh
“a fortified town, castle, or walled settlement”
Old French
OF
burgeis
“an inhabitant of a town; a citizen of a borough”
Middle French
MF
bourgeois
“townsman; member of the rising urban class”
Modern English
English
bourgeois
“a middle-class person, especially one seen as conventional or materialistic”