Boun

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Definitions

1. Archaic term meaning ready or prepared for something ; to make oneself ready or set out on a journey
2. Describing someone who is equipped and set for an action ; to get oneself prepared or start on the way
3. Dated word for being in a readiness state for a task ; a verb for getting oneself equipped or heading off

Etymology: "Boun" is an old English word meaning ready or prepared, usually followed by "to" and a verb, as in "boun to go." It came into Middle English from Old Norse "búinn," the past participle of "búa," meaning "to prepare." The Norse verb itself shows up in English through Scandinavian contact in the north and east of England during the Viking Age, when speakers of Old English and Old Norse lived side by side and borrowed freely from one another. Because the word was inherited through Middle English rather than borrowed later from a literary source, it stayed rooted in everyday speech about getting ready for a journey or a task. It survived mainly in northern and Scottish dialects and in older literary usage, while the standard language gradually let it fade in favour of "ready" and "prepared."