Borough

In the old sense of the word, borough is "an ancient towne, holden of the king or any other lord, which sendeth burgesses to the parliament."

Litt. § 164; Co. Litt. 109a.

Many of these boroughs, however, having been disfranchised in moaern times, are now only boroughs to this extent, that the land within them is held by tenure in burgage or subject to the custom of borough English \q. v.) At the present day, "borough" almost always means either a borough corporate, or municipal borough, or a parliamentary borough (see 1 Bl. Comm. 115; 1 Steph. Comm. 125), most, if not all, municipal boroughs being also parliamentary.. A parliamentary borough is a town which returns one or more members to parliament.

See Parliamentary and Municipal Registration Act 1878, § 4.

Some of these towns are ancient boroughs; others are towns on which the right of returning members has been conferred by statute.

St. 2 Wm. IV. c. 45; 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102.

In Scotch Law. A corporation organized under a royal charter. Bell, Diet. however, it is in common use, and denotes an incorporated town or village.

Bright. Purd. Dig. 115; 23 Conn. 128.

Borough, lynonymous with "town."

1 Bl. Comm. 114.

Borough, synonymous with "village."

18 Ohio St. 496,