Bourns
/bɔːrnz/noun
Plural of bourn, meaning a boundary, limit, or destination; also a poetic word for a brook or stream.
Did you know?The older English word *bourn* can mean both a boundary and a stream, a haunting overlap that links “the edge” with “the flow” in one ancient word.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*burnō
“stream, brook”
Old English
OE
burna
“stream, brook”
Middle English
ME
borne / bourn
“stream; boundary; limit”
Early Modern English
English
bourn
“boundary, limit, destination”
Modern English
English
bourns
“plural of bourn; boundaries or destinations”