this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2023
16 points (100.0% liked)
Melbourne
1843 readers
73 users here now
This community is a place created for the people of Melbourne and Victoria. We are a positive, welcoming and inclusive community. We might not agree about everything, but we always strive to stay civil and respectful.
The focus of our discussions is based around things that effect Victoria, but we are also free to discuss our local perspective on wider issues. Or head to the regular Daily Random Discussion thread to talk about anything.
Ongoing discussions, FAQs & Resources (still under construction)
Adoption Certificate for Nellie, the Daily Thread numbat (with thanks to @Catfish)
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
etymology reply 3
That's also another explanation. From my understanding, bourne/burne/burn and the meaning of 'stream' came to Old English via Germanic, but would have fell out of usage with that meaning in English as it changed and evolved over time. I thought it may be a cognate or related to 'brook', as in ' a babbling brook' but I haven't been able to find a link, though both bourne/burne/burn and brook come from Germanic.I wonder if the Scots got 'burn' back due to the heavy influence from Scandinavia - Vikings etc. I love following rabbit holes like these. Of absolutely no importance to current life whatsoever, but so fascinating.
etymology reply
I dived a bit deeper heheh. So bourne/burne/burn means 'stream' in Old English, from Proto-Germanic, this meaning has falled out of usage with this meaning in modern English, and is retained in placenames, i.e Melbourne.Borne refers to being 'carried/sustained', past participle of bear "to bear a great burden"
Bourn in the context of Hamlet means 'boundary/border', so only Jesus can pass through the borders of Heaven back to Earth. This comes from French and is thought to be a variant of bodne 'boundary/limit'
Scots Gaelic bùrn is a cognate (sister, comes from the same root word) with the Old English word and meaning. Like you said, it most likely got to Scots Gaelic through Scandinavia/Vikings and Proto-Germanic.