bourn noun¹. [bɔ:n, bʊǝn] Also bourne. ME.
[S. English var. of BURN noun¹.]
A small stream, a brook.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲

bourn noun². [bɔ:n, bʊǝn] Also bourne. E16.
[French borne: see BOUND noun¹.]
1. A boundary between fields etc.; a frontier. E16-L18.

2. A bound, a limit. arch. E17.
■ J. Thomson From the far bourne Of utmost Saturn.

3. Destination; a goal. arch. E19.
■ Wordsworth The selected bourne Was now an Island.

4. Realm, domain. poet. rare. E19.
■ Keats In water, fiery realm, and airy bourne.

► Senses 3 & 4 both arise from interpretations of Shakes. Haml. ('Something after deathThe undiscover'd country, from whose bourn No traveller returns'), which prob. belongs with sense 1.

[TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲