Border, Boundary, Frontier: Three Different Ideas
A border is the line where one territory meets another. Boundary and frontier are not synonyms, and geographers keep them apart.
A border is the line dividing two territories, and the zone around it. Geographers separate three words that everyday speech blurs: a *boundary* is the line itself, a *border* is the line plus the land near it, and a *frontier* is a zone of contact where control fades out. American history used frontier in a fourth sense again, meaning the edge of settlement.
- A dividing line between territories. *The northern border.*
- An edge or margin. *A flower border.*
- A decorative edge. *A patterned border.*
- To adjoin. *France borders Spain.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | border | A closed border. |
| Plural | borders | Open borders. |
| Verb | border | It borders the lake. |
| Adjective | borderline | A borderline case. |
| Related | boundary | A field boundary. |
How it is used in a sentence
- They crossed the border at dawn.Geography.
- It borders on absurdity.Comes close to.
- A herbaceous border runs along the wall.Gardening.
Border facts
- Longest — Canada and the United States, about 8,890 kilometres
- Most neighbours — China and Russia each border fourteen countries
- Enclave — a territory entirely surrounded by another state
- Straight-line borders — common in Africa and the American West, drawn on maps rather than terrain
- Border collie — named for the Anglo-Scottish border country
From Old French *bordure*, from a Frankish word for edge — related to English *board* in its old sense of a plank's edge.
Border or boundary?
A boundary is the line. A border includes the surrounding area, which is why border regions exist and boundary regions do not.
What is a frontier?
A zone rather than a line, where the reach of a state thins out. American usage added the sense of the edge of settlement.