Border

How to spell border

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce border

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does border mean?

1. nounThe line or zone separating two countries, regions, or areas.
2. nounA decorative strip or band along the edge of something such as fabric, paper, or a garden.
3. verbTo form an edge along, or to lie next to, something.

Border in a sentence

• noun

  The train slowed as it approached the border between the two countries.

• noun

  She sewed a lace border around the tablecloth.

• verb

  Tall hedges border the entire property.

• noun

  Guards checked every passport at the border crossing.

• noun

  A row of tulips formed a bright border along the path.

• verb

  Three states border the lake on its western shore.

Where does border come from?

Language of origin: French

Border came into English in the 1300s from the Old French bordure, meaning an edge, a side, or a margin, which was built on the verb border, 'to edge or to flank'. That family traces back to a Frankish (Germanic) word borda meaning the side or rim of something, the same source that gives us 'board' in the sense of a plank's edge. The earliest English uses described the decorative edge of a garment or a piece of cloth before the word spread to mean the boundary line of a territory, a sense that grew especially strong in the disputed lands between England and Scotland. Because the root simply means 'edge', the word kept its plain '-er' ending rather than the trickier '-our' or '-re' that catch people out elsewhere. The link to 'board' is a handy reminder that the 'bord' part is spelled with no extra vowels.

How the word is built

• bord (edge, from Old French bord: side, edge)
• -er (noun suffix)