A borough is a section of a city that has authority over local matters within that section or an incorporated municipality. In the United States, the most famous example of boroughs are the five boroughs that make up New York City, known simply as the Five Boroughs. The Five Boroughs of New York City are Queens, Staten Island, Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn. Boroughs can have different meanings in the US depending on where you are. In Alaska, it is synonymous with county. In Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, it refers to an incorporated municipality. In Virginia, borough refers to a division of a city under certain circumstances. Some cities, such as Greensboro, NC or Maynesborough, NH reflect the historical use of the word borough, though the phrase is no longer as widely used within the United States of America. Borough comes from the Germanic word “burg,” which means fort.
