bourn (redirected from bourns)

bourn ¹ also bourne  (bôrn, brn, brn)

n.

A small stream; a brook.

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[Middle English, from Old English burna; see bhreu- in Indo-European roots.]

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bourn ² also bourne  (bôrn, brn, brn)

n. Archaic

1. A destination; a goal.

2. A boundary; a limit.

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[French bourne, from French dialectal bosne, borne, from Old French bodne, limit, boundary marker, from Medieval Latin bodina, of Celtic origin.]

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bourn

Noun

Chiefly S Brit a stream [Old French bodne limit]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	bourn - an archaic term for a boundary       bourne boundary, bounds, bound - the line or plane indicating the limit or extent of something
	2.	bourn - an archaic term for a goal or destination bourne goal, end - the state of affairs that a plan is intended to achieve and that (when achieved) terminates behavior intended to achieve it; "the ends justify the means"