bourne

== English == === Pronunciation === (horse–hoarse merger) (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /bɔːn/ (General American) IPA(key): /boɹn/, [bo̞ɹn], /bʊɹn/ Homophone: borne (see there for more) Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)n (without the horse–hoarse merger) (rhotic) IPA(key): /boːɹn/ (non-rhotic) IPA(key): /boən/ === Etymology 1 === From Middle French borne, from Old French bodne, from Medieval Latin bodina, a word of unknown ultimate origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰmḗn (“bottom, base”), see also Proto-Celtic *bundos. ==== Noun ==== bourne (countable and uncountable, plural bournes) (countable, archaic) A boundary; a limit. (archaic) A goal or destination. === Etymology 2 === From Middle English bourne, from Old English burna. Doublet of burn. ==== Noun ==== bourne (plural bournes) A stream or brook in which water flows only seasonally; a small stream or brook. ===== Derived terms ===== (seasonal stream): nailbourne, winterbourne (placenames): Middlebourne ===== Related terms ===== bourn (“small stream”), burn (“stream”) === References === === Anagrams === unbore, unrobe == Middle English == === Alternative forms === borne, burne burn, bwrne (Northern); boerne, buerne (Northwest Midland) === Etymology === Inherited from Old English burna, burne, from Proto-West Germanic *brunnō, from Proto-Germanic *brunnô, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰréh₁wr̥. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈbuːrn(ə)/, (Northern) /ˈburn(ə)/ === Noun === bourne (plural bournes) (especially Northern, West Midland) A stream or river; a watercourse (regardless of size) A lake or sea; a waterbody. ==== Usage notes ==== In bynames recorded in the subsidy rolls of Northern England from 1290-1350, this word is mostly restricted to County Durham and Northumberland (though an instance is also recorded in Cumberland); this likely reflects local vernacular practice since it aligns with modern dialectal evidence; elsewhere the usual terms were bek and brok. ==== Descendants ==== English: bourne, bourn; burn Middle Scots: burn, burne Scots: burn === References ===