nailbourne
nailbourne noun: a chalk stream that only flows intermittently.
Noun
nailbourne (plural nailbournes)
- A chalk stream that only flows intermittently.
- Theſe Nailbourns, or temporary land-ſprings, are not unuſual in the parts of this county eaſtward of Sittingborne, for I know of but one, at Addington near Maidſtone, which is on the other ſide of it. Their time of breaking forth or continuance of running, is very uncertain; but whenever they do...1797, Edward Hasted, “The Hundred of Loningborough”, in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, 3rd edition, volume 8, page 81
- It should be understood that many small springs were not visited, and that the subject of streams and nailbournes (or occasional streams) has been only alluded to incidentally.1893, Appendices to [the Report and] Minutes of Evidence of the Royal Commission on Metropolitan Water Supply, page 435
Synonyms of nailbourne
Forms of nailbourne
| plural | nailbournes |
|---|---|
| alternative form | eylebourn |
| alternative form | nailbourn |
Origin of nailbourne
From nail + bourne (“seasonal stream or brook”). The etymology of the first part is uncertain. It may derive from ail via a rebracketing of an ailbourne as a nailbourne; compare similar cases such as English newt and nickname.
Questions about nailbourne
- What does nailbourne mean?
- Nailbourne means a chalk stream that only flows intermittently.
- What part of speech is nailbourne?
- Nailbourne is a noun.
- What is the plural of nailbourne?
- The plural of nailbourne is nailbournes.
Words near nailbourne in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: nailbourne (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “nailbourne.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/nailbourne. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.