Waterborne

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Concerning the transmission of organisms or illnesses via water
2. Transported or spread by means of water, especially regarding contamination or disease transfer
3. Moved or conveyed by water, often related to the passage of pathogens or particles

Etymology: "Waterborne" is a plain compound of "water" and "-borne," and its history lies mostly in that second element. "-borne" comes from Old English "beran," meaning "to bear, carry," with a past participle "(ge)boren" that became Middle English "boren" or "iborne." The same participle survives in "born," and in its older sense of carried or brought, which is why "-borne" appears in words like "airborne" and "seaborne." The combination "water + -borne" describes anything transported or supported by water. Because "-borne" was productive for centuries, speakers could attach it to almost any medium, so "waterborne" is a transparent formation rather than a word with a dramatic turn. Its meaning has stayed literal from the start, carried by water, so there is no shift to report beyond the sense the parts already give.

Synonyms: aquatic, marine, fluvial, nautical, seaborne

Antonyms: landborne, terrestrial