border

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English bordure, from Old French bordeure, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *bord, equivalent to modern French bord (“a border”) + -er. Akin to Middle High German borte (“border, trim”), German Borte (“ribbon, trimming”). Doublet of bordure. More at board.

noun

1. The line or frontier area separating political or geographical regions.
   The border between Canada and USA is the longest in the world.
   The identification of the border between England and Scotland always has been a source of interest to railway travellers. For many years, however, the exact points north of Berwick and Carlisle at which the Anglo-Scottish main lines passed from one country to the other were not defined, but the erection of clear and unmistakable lineside signs has put the matter beyond all doubt. 1950 January, “Crossing the Border”, in Railway Magazine, page 2
   The Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday the men had been killed on Tuesday in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, on the border of Kandahar just north of the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. 2013, Nicholas Watt and Nick Hopkins, Afghanistan bomb: UK to 'look carefully' at use of vehicles(in The Guardian, 1 May 2013)
   23 June 2018, Mattha Busb, The Independent, Jogger crosses US-Canada border by mistake, is held for two weeks in detention centre A French tourist who accidentally crossed the border into the US from Canada during an evening jog was sent to a detention centre 125 miles away and held for two weeks until she was released.
2. The outer edge of something.
   the borders of the garden
   upon the borders of these solitudes 1843, Jeremy Bentham, Principles of Morals and Legislation, Fragment on Government, Civil Code, Penal Law
3. A decorative strip around the edge of something.
   There's a nice frilly border around the picture frame.
   a solid border around a table of figures
4. A strip of ground in which ornamental plants are grown.
5. (Britain, uncountable) border morris or border dancing; a vigorous style of traditional English dance originating from villages along the border between England and Wales, performed by a team of dancers usually with their faces disguised with black makeup.
6. (computing) A string that is both a prefix and a suffix of another particular string.

verb

1. (transitive) To put a border on something.
2. (transitive) To form a border around; to bound.
3. (transitive) To lie on, or adjacent to, a border of.
   Denmark borders Germany to the south.
4. (intransitive) To touch at a border (with on, upon, or with).
   Connecticut borders on Massachusetts.
5. (intransitive) To approach; to come near to; to verge (with on or upon).