Bourne | { } n. [ OE. burne, borne, AS. burna; akin to OS. brunno spring, G. born, brunnen, OHG. prunno, Goth. brunna, Icel. brunnr, and perh. to Gr. &unr_;. The root is prob. that of burn, v., because the source of a stream seems to issue forth bubbling and boiling from the earth. Cf. Torrent, and see Burn, v. ] A stream or rivulet; a burn. [ 1913 Webster ] My little boat can safely pass this perilous bourn. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ] Variants: Bourn |
Bourne | { } n. [ F. borne. See Bound a limit. ] A bound; a boundary; a limit. Hence: Point aimed at; goal. [ 1913 Webster ] Where the land slopes to its watery bourn. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ] The undiscovered country, from whose bourn No traveler returns. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] Sole bourn, sole wish, sole object of my song. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ] To make the doctrine . . . their intellectual bourne. Tyndall. [ 1913 Webster ] Variants: Bourn |