bord

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɔʁ/^[1]

Forms

bord m (plural bords)^[1] Old French bort, still written so in the 16th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French bort, borrowed from Frankish *bord (“side of a ship”).^[4][5][3][6] The Frankish word is reconstructed from Old Norse borð (“edge; the upper side of a ship”) and related to Old Saxon bord, Old English bord, Dutch boord and Old High German bort.^[5] The Frankish word for a plank, behind borde and bordel, came into French separately; how the Germanic words are related is disputed, some tracing both to an Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *bʰerdʰ- (“to cut”).^[5][4][2]

Italian bordo and Spanish bordo come from Gallo-Romance.^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first use (about 1121, Voyage of Saint Brendan) is nautical: bord de la nef, the side of the ship.^[8][5]

Semantic evolution

In seafaring it is the upper edge of the planking and each side of the ship, whence bord à bord (before 1307) and virer de bord “to tack”, used figuratively for a complete change of course; by metonymy it is the ship itself, as in à bord (about 1500), later used of vehicles and aircraft, journal de bord and tableau de bord.^[5][9] Être du même bord “to be on the same side” is of the 17th century.^[5]

From about 1160 the word was applied to the edge of any surface: the rim of a well (1174–77), a river bank (before 1307), the brim of a hat (1680); au bord du précipice is figurative from 1670.^[5] In Quebec French se virer de bord means to turn round and prendre le bord to leave in a hurry.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1121 – The side of a ship, in the Voyage of Saint Brendan.^[8][5]
• c. 1160 – The edge of a surface.^[5]
• Before 1307 – Bord à bord; a river bank.^[5]
• c. 1500 – À bord.^[5]
• 1670 – Au bord du précipice, figuratively.^[5]
• 1680 – The brim of a hat.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. edge, border: the outer limit of a surface or object: le bord de la table.^[1][10]
2. The rim of a container or an opening: rempli jusqu'au bord.^[10]
3. shore, bank: the land along water: au bord de la mer, les bords de la Seine.^[10][1]
4. (nautical) The side of a ship; the ship itself: à bord, par-dessus bord, virer de bord.^[8][11]
5. Au bord de: on the verge of: au bord des larmes.^[5][1]
6. Sur les bords: slightly, a little (il est un peu menteur sur les bords).^[1]

Word family

• aborder
• déborder
• bordage
• bordée
• border
• bordure
• bordereau
• plat-bord
• rebord
• transborder

Related words

• bâbord
• tribord
• borde
• English board

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/1, 180a
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)