bourn Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an archaic term for a boundary
    bourne.
  2. noun an archaic term for a goal or destination
    bourne.

WordNet

Bourn, Bourne noun (Also<
  • Bourn
  • Bourne
)
Etymology
OE. burne, borne, AS. burna; akin to OS. brunno spring, G. born, brunnen, OHG. prunno, Goth. brunna, Icel. brunnr, and perh. to Gr. . The root is prob. that of burn, v., because the source of a stream seems to issue forth bubbling and boiling from the earth. Cf. Torrent, and see Burn, v.
Definitions
  1. A stream or rivulet; a burn.
    My little boat can safely pass this perilous bourn. Spenser.
Bourn, Bourne noun (Also<
  • Bourn
  • Bourne
)
Etymology
F. borne. See Bound a limit.
Definitions
  1. A bound; a boundary; a limit. Hence: Point aimed at; goal.
    Where the land slopes to its watery bourn. Cowper.
    The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveler returns. Shak.
    Sole bourn, sole wish, sole object of my song. Wordsworth.
    To make the doctrine . . . their intellectual bourne. Tyndall.

Webster 1913