Bordered

How to spell bordered

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce bordered

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does bordered mean?

1. verbPast tense of border: formed the edge of something, or lay directly alongside a place or region.
2. adjectiveHaving a decorative or distinct edge or boundary around it.

Bordered in a sentence

• verb

  Tall hedges bordered the entire length of the driveway.

• adjective

  She chose a bordered tablecloth with a thin gold trim.

• verb

  The estate bordered the river on its eastern side.

• adjective

  The certificate arrived on heavy bordered paper.

Where does bordered come from?

Language of origin: French

This word traces back to the Old French bordure, meaning a 'border' or 'edge', which came from the verb border, 'to form an edge', built on the noun bord meaning the 'side' or 'rim', especially the side of a ship. That bord was itself of Germanic origin and is closely related to the English word 'board', since a ship's side was made of planks or boards. English took the noun 'border' in the 1300s to mean the edge or boundary of something, and from it grew the verb meaning 'to lie along the edge of' or 'to run alongside'. The past-tense and participle form 'bordered' simply adds the regular -ed ending, and because the root already ends in -er, the spelling stacks two e-vowel sounds (-ered) that fluent writers occasionally rush past. Knowing the kinship with 'board' is a handy memory anchor for the bord- spelling at the start.

How the word is built

• border (edge, boundary; from French bord 'side, edge')
• -ed (past tense / adjective suffix)