Forms: 1 burna, burne, burn, 2–6 burne, (4 bourne, buerne), 4–5 brynne, 3– burn. See also BOURNE sb.1 [Common Teut.: the OE. burna wk. masc., burne wk. fem., burn str. fem. (apparently not distinguished in sense) correspond to OFris. burna masc., MDu. borne masc., Du. born, MLG. borne, born masc., mod.G. (poet.) born masc., which are metathetic forms of the words appearing as OHG. brunno, Goth. brunna wk. masc., Du. bron masc., ON. brunn-r str. masc., repr. OTeut. types *brunnon-, *brunno-z. The primitive and prevailing sense of the Teut. word is ‘spring, fountain,’ of which there are some traces in OE., the word being used to render Lat. fons of the Vulgate.
A connection is often assumed with brunn- ablaut-stem of OTeut. *brin-n-an BURN v.1, on the supposition that that root had originally the wider sense ‘well up, be in commotion,’ applicable to water as well as to fire; but of this there is no actual evidence. Curtius and others have regarded the sb. as cogn. w. Gr. φρέαρ a well, supposing the root to be the same with that of L. fervēre to boil up; but the form of the Teut. word does not permit this explanation.]
1. In OE.: A spring, fountain; a stream or river. In later use: A small stream or brook. Now (exc. in the form BOURNE sb.1) chiefly north.
c. 1000. Ags. Gosp., John xviii. 1. Þa eode he ofer ða burnan Cedron.
a. 1225. Moral Ode, in Lamb. Hom., 175. Weter … of þe burne.
a. 1250. Owl & Night., 916. An ydel wel, That springeth bi burne thar is suel.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, VII. 78. At that burn eschapit the king.
a. 1400. Cov. Myst. (1841), 162. By bankys and brynnys browne.
1535. Stewart, Cron. Scot., II. 611. Thair blude like burnis rynnand on the grene.
1641. Nth. Riding Records, IV. 206. Presentment for nonpayment of assessment … for Whitby-burne [previously always beck].
1753. Stewart’s Trial, 191. Allan Breck … was fishing in a burn near the deponent’s house.
1839. Stonehouse, Axholme, 311. Well watered by a beck or burn.
1855. Browning, Last Ride together, viii. Yonder girl that fords the burn.
1878. Black, Macleod of D., I. 176. Munching the young grass, and drinking out of the burn.
2. a. Water from a fountain or well. b. ‘Warm water used in brewing or washing’ (Jamieson).
a. 800. Corpus Gloss. (O. E. Texts), 1185. Latex, burne.
c. 1000. Ælfric, Voc. Suppl., in Wr.-Wülcker, 177. Latex, burna.
c. 1565. Lyndesay, Satyre, 4140. To mak thin aill they think na falt Of mekill burne and lytill malt.
a. 1806. Allan o’ Maut, in Jamieson, Pop. Ballads, II. 239 (Jam.). They … put the burn untill the gleed.
b. Said poet. like flood, of the sea. Cf. BROOK.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 12523. Thretty and two [shippes] There were brent on the buerne with the breme low.
† c. To make one’s burn: to ‘make water.’ Obs.
1788. Picken, Poems, 118 (Jam.). Or stap the very haly sang To mak his burn.
3. attrib. and in comb., as burn-brae, -fishing, -foot, -head, -mouth, -trout; also burn-gate, a small water-course; burn-side, the side of a brook, the strip of ground alongside of it.
1724. Ramsay, Tea-T. Misc. (1733), I. 57. They bigg’d a bower on yon *burn-brae.
1873. G. C. Davies, Mount. & Mere, xiii. 104. Good sport for *burn fishing.
1832. Carlyle, Remin., I. 36. Every dell and *burngate … he had traversed.
1875. J. Veitch, Tweed, 30. The depths of glen that fold The *Burn-heads.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 5768. All borne were þai backe to þe *buerne syde.
1789. Burns, A waukrife Minnie, ii. By yon burnside … wi’ my minnie.
1849. W. Irving, Crayon Misc., 255. The green shaws and burnsides of Scotland.
1805. R. Forsyth, Beauties Scotl., II. 360. Pike are … caught with … lines baited with *burn-trouts or frogs.
