Born / Borne

Certain sets of words in the English language tend to confuse people. I have found the following to be among them:

BORN / BORNE 

The adjective born means brought forth by birth or as if by birth. The adjective borne means carried or transmitted by and is used in combination with a noun, such as in the compound word airborne. However, either borne (preferred) or born can also serve as the past participle of the verb to bear. Thus:

We are born into this world helpless and borne out of it even more so.

© 2024 Ann Henry, all rights reserved.

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