- border (n.)
- mid-14c., from Old French bordure "seam, edge of a shield, border," from Frankish *bord or a similar Germanic source (cf. Old English bord "side;" see board (n.2)). The geopolitical sense first attested 1530s, in Scottish (replacing earlier march), from The Borders, name of the district adjoining the boundary between England and Scotland.
- border (v.)
- c.1400, "to put a border on;" 1640s as "to lie on the border of," from border (n.). Related: Bordered; bordering.