Bourn

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /bɔːn/

Definitions

1. A small natural stream of water flowing continuously or intermittently ; a limit or boundary that defines an extent or scope
2. A brook or minor watercourse often found in rural settings ; a dividing line or point marking the extent of something
3. A small flowing water channel ; a fixed point marking a restriction or border

Etymology: Two unrelated words ended up with the same spelling. The boundary sense comes from Old French "bonne," a limit or boundary, which is also the source of English "bound." The stream sense comes from Old English "burna," which is related to "burn," the Scottish and northern English word for a brook. Over time the two merged in spelling, so a single form now covers both a border and a small watercourse. The boundary sense survives most famously in Shakespeare's "Hamlet," where the Prince describes death as the "undiscover'd country from whose bourn no traveller returns." The stream sense is now mostly poetic or regional, but the word's spelling still carries both histories.

Synonyms: brook, stream, creek