n. [ OE. bounde, bunne, OF. bonne, bonde, bodne, F. borne, fr. LL. bodina, bodena, bonna; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. Arm. bonn boundary, limit, and boden, bod, a tuft or cluster of trees, by which a boundary or limit could be marked. Cf. Bourne. ] The external or limiting line, either real or imaginary, of any object or space; that which limits or restrains, or within which something is limited or restrained; limit; confine; extent; boundary. [ 1913 Webster ]

He hath compassed the waters with bounds. Job xxvi. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

On earth's remotest bounds. Campbell. [ 1913 Webster ]

And mete the bounds of hate and love. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

To keep within bounds, not to exceed or pass beyond assigned limits; to act with propriety or discretion. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- See Boundary. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Past p. of OE. bounen to prepare, fr. boun ready, prepared, fr. Icel. būinn, p. p. of būa to dwell, prepare; akin to E. boor and bower. See Bond, a., and cf. Busk, v. ] Ready or intending to go; on the way toward; going; -- with to or for, or with an adverb of motion; as, a ship is bound to Cadiz, or for Cadiz. “The mariner bound homeward.” Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Bounding. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To limit; to terminate; to fix the furthest point of extension of; -- said of natural or of moral objects; to lie along, or form, a boundary of; to inclose; to circumscribe; to restrain; to confine. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where full measure only bounds excess. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Phlegethon . . .
Whose fiery flood the burning empire bounds. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To name the boundaries of; as, to bound France. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ F. bondir to leap, OF. bondir, bundir, to leap, resound, fr. L. bombitare to buzz, hum, fr. bombus a humming, buzzing. See Bomb. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To move with a sudden spring or leap, or with a succession of springs or leaps; as the beast bounded from his den; the herd bounded across the plain. [ 1913 Webster ]

Before his lord the ready spaniel bounds. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

And the waves bound beneath me as a steed
That knows his rider. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To rebound, as an elastic ball. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To make to bound or leap; as, to bound a horse. [ R. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to rebound; to throw so that it will rebound; as, to bound a ball on the floor. [ Collog. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A leap; an elastic spring; a jump. [ 1913 Webster ]

A bound of graceful hardihood. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Rebound; as, the bound of a ball. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Dancing) Spring from one foot to the other. [ 1913 Webster ]

imp. & p. p. of Bind. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. p. & a. 1. Restrained by a hand, rope, chain, fetters, or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Inclosed in a binding or cover; as, a bound volume. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Under legal or moral restraint or obligation. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Constrained or compelled; destined; certain; -- followed by the infinitive; as, he is bound to succeed; he is bound to fail. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Resolved; as, I am bound to do it. [ Collog. U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Constipated; costive. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Used also in composition; as, icebound, windbound, hidebound, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bound bailiff (Eng. Law), a sheriff's officer who serves writs, makes arrests, etc. The sheriff being answerable for the bailiff's misdemeanors, the bailiff is usually under bond for the faithful discharge of his trust. --
Bound up in, entirely devoted to; inseparable from. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Boundaries /plu> [ From Bound a limit; cf. LL. bonnarium piece of land with fixed limits. ] That which indicates or fixes a limit or extent, or marks a bound, as of a territory; a bounding or separating line; a real or imaginary limit. [ 1913 Webster ]

But still his native country lies
Beyond the boundaries of the skies. N. Cotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

That bright and tranquil stream, the boundary of Louth and Meath. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sensation and reflection are the boundaries of our thoughts. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Limit; bound; border; term; termination; barrier; verge; confines; precinct. Bound, Boundary. Boundary, in its original and strictest sense, is a visible object or mark indicating a limit. Bound is the limit itself. But in ordinary usage the two words are made interchangeable. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. having the limits or boundaries established.
Syn. -- delimited. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. having a defined physical border. [ WordNet 1.5 ]