Borne Identity

I received an interesting grammar question from a former colleague who is the editor of a trade magazine. (Yeah, my friends ask me these sorts of questions -- I'm the life of the party.)

What’s the difference between "born" and "borne"? For example, I know this is correct: "I was born on Feb. 23." But which of these is correct?

• "The Web site was borne out of the need for consumers to be able to shop for books online."
• "The Web site was born out of the need for consumers to be able to shop for books online."

In the end, on deadline, we rewrote the sentence to remove "born" or "borne," but now I’m curious.

I didn't know the answer, but, being the grammar geek that I am, I decided to track it down. Here is what I found, compliments of Merriam-Webster:

Thanks to the vagaries of English spelling, bear has two past participles: born and borne. Traditionally, born is used only in passive constructions referring to birth: I was born in Chicago. For all other uses, including active constructions referring to birth, borne is the standard form: She has borne both her children at home. I have borne his insolence with the patience of a saint.

So it seems that in passive constructions, "born" is preferred. But in active construction, you'd use "borne." English is so very odd! What a crazy little rule. But fascinating!