\Bur"schen*schaft`\, n.; pl. {-schaften}. [G.]
In Germany, any of various associations of university
students formed (the original one at Jena in 1815) to support
liberal ideas, or the organization formed by the affiliation
of the local bodies. The organization was suppressed by the
government in 1819, but was secretly revived, and is now
openly maintained as a social organization, the restrictive
laws having been repealed prior to 1849. --
{Bur"schen*schaft`ler}, {-schaf`ter}, n.