Note 28 — THE GREAT EPIDEMICS OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
Thomas C. (Thomas Chalmers) Minor translation
They designated by the name of borde, bordeau, bordell, bordette, bourde, or bourdeau, a small house or cabin built on the edge of town; a cabin intended to contain lepers. The word bordell, a house of ill-fame, as used even in modern days, takes its origin from borde, an asylum for lepers.