One who holds land of his *lord in return for menial work; a low-ranking *villein; generously, a smallholder. He might have had five acres but would not have been able to supply even one ox to a ploughteam. In *DB the bordar was referred to by the Latin form, bordarius. [< AngLat. bordarius, OldFr. borde = small farm, cottage]
Cf. Bordage
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.