border

Inherited from Middle English bordure, from Old French bordeure, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *bord, equivalent to modern French bord (“a border”) + -er.

Akin to Middle High German borte (“border, trim”), German Borte (“ribbon, trimming”). Doublet of bordure. More at board.

Further cognate to English board, Old Norse barð (“edge”), Swedish bård (“edge”), also English beard, German Bart (“beard”) (edge of the face) etc.

• (horse–hoarse merger)
  • (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔədə/
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔːdə/

  • Audio (UK); “a border”:

    (file)

  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈboɹdɚ/, [ˈbo̞ɹdɚ]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)də(ɹ)
  • Homophone: boarder (horse–hoarse merger)
• (without the horse–hoarse merger)
  • (rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔːɹdɚ/
  • (non-rhotic) IPA^(key): /ˈbɔːdə/

border (countable and uncountable, plural borders)

1. The line or frontier area separating political or geographical regions.

   The border between Canada and USA is the longest in the world.

   • 1950 January, “Crossing the Border”, in Railway Magazine, page 2:

     The identification of the border between England and Scotland always has been a source of interest to railway travellers. For many years, however, the exact points north of Berwick and Carlisle at which the Anglo-Scottish main lines passed from one country to the other were not defined, but the erection of clear and unmistakable lineside signs has put the matter beyond all doubt.

   • 2013, Nicholas Watt and Nick Hopkins, Afghanistan bomb: UK to 'look carefully' at use of vehicles(in The Guardian, 1 May 2013)

     The Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday the men had been killed on Tuesday in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, on the border of Kandahar just north of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.

   • 23 June 2018, Mattha Busb, The Independent, Jogger crosses US-Canada border by mistake, is held for two weeks in detention centre

     A French tourist who accidentally crossed the border into the US from Canada during an evening jog was sent to a detention centre 125 miles away and held for two weeks until she was released.

2. The outer edge of something.

   the borders of the garden

   • 1843, Jeremy Bentham, Principles of Morals and Legislation, Fragment on Government, Civil Code, Penal Law:

     upon the borders of these solitudes

   • a. 1678 (date written), Isaac Barrow, “(please specify the chapter name or sermon number). The Danger and Mischief of Delaying Reptentance”, in The Works of Dr. Isaac Barrow. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: A[braham] J[ohn] Valpy, […], published 1830–1831, →OCLC:

     in the borders of death

3. A decorative strip around the edge of something.

   There’s a nice frilly border around the picture frame.

   a solid border around a table of figures

4. A strip of ground in which ornamental plants are grown.
5. (British, uncountable) border morris or border dancing; a vigorous style of traditional English dance originating from villages along the border between England and Wales, performed by a team of dancers usually with their faces disguised with black makeup.
6. (computing) A string that is both a prefix and a suffix of another particular string.

border (third-person singular simple present borders, present participle bordering, simple past and past participle bordered)

1. (transitive) To put a border on something.
2. (transitive) To form a border around; to bound.
3. (transitive) To lie on, or adjacent to, a border of.

   Denmark borders Germany to the south.

4. (intransitive) To touch at a border (with on, upon, or with).

   Connecticut borders on Massachusetts.

5. (intransitive) To approach; to come near to; to verge (with on or upon).
   • 1671, John Tillotson, “Sermon II. The Folly of Scoffing at Religion. 2 Pet[er] III. 3.”, in The Works of the Most Reverend Dr. John Tillotson, Late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury: […], 8th edition, London: […] T. Goodwin, B[enjamin] Tooke, and J. Pemberton, […]; J. Round […], and J[acob] Tonson] […], published 1720, →OCLC:

     Wit which borders upon profaneness […] deserves to be branded as folly.

• border on
• cross-border

• roberd

From bord +‎ -er, of Germanic origin.

• IPA^(key): /bɔʁ.de/

• Audio:

  (file)

border

1. to border (add a border to)
2. to border (share a border with)
3. to tuck in

• avoir le cul bordé de nouilles

• “border”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• broder, rebord

border

1. Alternative form of bourdour

• bord

border n

1. indefinite plural of bord

border m

1. indefinite plural of bord