Borne, with an e, is synonymous with carried. It’s the appropriate participle corresponding to bear in contexts unrelated to birth. So it is the correct word in the phrasal verb borne out (e.g., His prediction was not borne out in reality), and it’s used in phrasal adjectives such as food-borne, mosquito-borne, and water-borne.
Born is the correct word in reference to birth, both literal and figurative, and it also means resulting or arising (with from or of). So, for example, born is correct in constructions such as His bad mood was born of a cold and a tough commute. It’s also correct in phrasal adjectives, such as Brazilian-born or Chicago-born, indicating where someone was born.
Examples
Here are a few examples of borne used well:
All costs associated with this recall will be borne by Toyota and not our customers. [RTE]
And it must also be borne in mind that Gadhafi clearly has substantial support as well as opposition. [Forbes]
Already the campaign has borne fruit. [Guardian]
And these writers use born well:
It might equally be surmised that his 50-year silence was a ‘holy silence,’ born of the desire to live quietly and out of public view. [Spiked Online]
Dr. Rodriguez is a native Texan, born and raised in Houston. [Dentistry IQ]
