borwe

Middle English

Etymology 1

PIE root
*bʰergʰ-

Inherited from Old English borg, borh, from Proto-West Germanic *borg, from Proto-Germanic *burgaz; the frequency of forms in -we implies frequent rebuilding on the plural borwes and related verb borwen. For the early form barh, see the discussion at morwe.

Alternative forms

• borgh, borghe, borȝ, borow, borowe, boruȝ, borugh, borw, borwgh
• barh, borh (Early Middle English); borowgh (Late Middle English); borowghe (Promptorium Parvulorum)
• borou, boru, boruh, boruth (Northern, Northwest Midland); borewe (Southern, West Midland)
• borch, borche, borcht, borrghe, boruch, borwch, bourcht, bourghe, bowrch, bowrche (Early Scots)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔrwə/, /ˈbɔrɔu̯(ə)/, /ˈbɔruː/, /bɔrx/
• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔriu̯(ə)/ (especially Kent, Southern, South Midland)

Noun

borwe (plural borwes)

1. A pledge or security (asset deposited as guarantee):
   1. A ransom (money paid for return of a hostage)
   2. Testimony; a statement as evidence.
   3. (rare) A loan (money lent to another)
2. A guarantor or sponsor (person who guarantees another's conduct):
   1. (law) A surety; a legal guarantor of an agreement, debt, or legal appearance.
   2. (especially law) One who corroborates another's claims or testimony.
   3. (religion) A saint or deity invoked as a guarantor.
   4. (rare) A baptismal sponsor; a godparent.
3. Guarantorship; the position of being a guarantor:
   1. (law) Suretyship; the position of being or having a surety.
   2. (rare) The state of being a godparent.
4. (rare) A debt (money owed to another)

Related terms

• borwage
• borwen
• borwere
• borweschipe

Descendants

• English: borrow (obsolete)
  • → Middle Scots: borrow
• Middle Scots: borch
  • Scots: borrow (influenced by the verb)

References

• “borgh, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
• “borch(t, borgh, n.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, reproduced from William A[lexander] Craigie, A[dam] J[ack] Aitken [et al.], editors, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1931–2002, →OCLC.

Etymology 2

Verb

borwe

1. alternative form of borwen