Standard Lemma guide

borderland

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈbɔː(ɹ).də(ɹ)ˌlænd/
  • UK:
  • US:
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɔː(ɹ)də(ɹ)lænd

1

noun

Meaning 1

Land near a border; marches.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 1850, Charlotte Brontë, letter dated 16 March, 1850, in The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell, London: Smith, Elder, 1857, Volume 2, Chapter , p. , some of the ancient East Lancashire families, whose mansions lie on the hilly border-land between the two counties

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: marchland

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: land, area, region, place, location

2

noun

Meaning 2

An intermediate state, category, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: twilight zone, shadowland

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: grey area, twilight zone, shadowland

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

district consisting of the area on either side of a border or boundary of a country or an area

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the Welsh marches between England and Wales

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: border district, march, marchland

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: district, territory, territorial dominion, dominion

History

Etymology

From border + land.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: ускра́іны (uskráiny) — land near a border
  • Chinese Mandarin: 邊陲 /边陲 (biānchuí) — land near a border
  • Czech: pohraničí — land near a border
  • Finnish: rajaseutu — land near a border
  • Finnish: rajamaa — land near a border
  • French: marche — land near a border
  • German: Grenzland — land near a border
  • Greek: παραμεθόριος (paramethórios) — land near a border
  • Irish: dúiche theorann — land near a border
  • Korean: 국경 지방 (gukgyeong jibang) — land near a border
  • Lithuanian: pasienis — land near a border
  • Norwegian Bokmål: grenseland — land near a border
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: grenseland — land near a border
  • Polish: kresy — land near a border
  • Polish: pogranicze — land near a border
  • Portuguese: fronteira — land near a border
  • Russian: окра́ина (okráina) — land near a border
  • Russian: пограни́чье (pograníčʹje) — land near a border
  • Spanish: marca — land near a border
  • Spanish: zona fronteriza — land near a border
  • Ukrainian: окра́їна (okrájina) — land near a border
  • Ukrainian: пограни́ччя (pohranýččja) — land near a border
  • Ukrainian: прикордо́ння (prykordónnja) — land near a border
  • Welsh: goror — land near a border
  • Welsh: ffindir — land near a border