Etymograph

English

border

Border comes from Middle English bordure ‘a heraldic border’, and goes back to Frankish *bord.

  1. Frankishc. 250–700*bordreconstructed
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bordeure
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bordure‘a heraldic border’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1671border

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Frankishc. 250–700*bordreconstructed
  2. Old Frenchc. 842–1400bordeure
  3. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bordure‘a heraldic border’
  4. Englishearliest quotation 1671border

Earliest quotation: 1671, John Tillotson, Sermon II. The Folly of Scoffing at Religion. 2 Pet[er] III.: “Wit which borders upon profaneness […]deserves to be branded…”

The story

Not cognate to beard, although inside Germanic there may have been influence between the senses of these two roots.

Every English word from Frankish *bord

Today it means

noun The line or frontier area separating political or geographical regions.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Frankish *bord / border

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