1570s, "the putting of a border," verbal noun from edge (v.). Meaning "a border, that which is added to form an edge" is from 1660s; that of "the trimming of lawn edges" is from 1858.
Lake on the Nevada-California border, from Washo /da'aw/ "lake."
c. 1400, "boundary, border, frontier, limit" (usually plural), from Old French confins "boundaries," from Medieval Latin confines "a border, boundary," from Latin confinium (plural confinia) "boundary, limit," from confine, neuter of confinis "bordering on, having the same boundaries," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see con-) + finis "an end" (see finish (v.)). As "the part of a territory which is near the border" (as in Dryden's "Betwixt the confines of the Night and Day") is from c. 1600.
"ornamental border of a picture," 1864 from verbal derivative of mat (n.2).
"a narrow strip," Old English liste "border, hem, edge, strip," from Proto-Germanic *liston (source also of Old High German lista "strip, border, list," Old Norse lista "border, selvage," German leiste), from PIE *leizd- "border, band" (see list (n.1)). The Germanic root also is the source of French liste, Italian lista. The word has had many technical senses in English, including "lobe of an ear" and "a stripe of color." This also is the list in archaic lists "place of combat" (late 14c.), from an earlier sense "boundary;" the fighting ground being originally at the boundary of fields.
"edge, border," 1550s, now chiefly poetic, shortening of margin (n.), or from French marge.
"border on or be near to," 1580s, from neighbor (n.). Related: Neighbored; neighboring.
