starboard

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

Also spelled stabboard

US /ˈstɑrbɚd/ UK /ˈstɑːbəd/ See IPA manual

noun adj

Meanings

1

noun
the right-hand side of a ship or aircraft when facing forward

The captain ordered a sharp turn to starboard.

Thesaurus

Opposites

port larboard

Word family

Related forms steer board

Etymology

From Old English 'steorbord', literally 'steer-side', because early ships were steered by a paddle on the right-hand side: 'steor' (steering oar) + 'bord' (side of a ship).

steorbord Old English steor Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction Transportation

# starboard

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** ˈstɑrbɚd
**IPA (UK):** ˈstɑːbəd

## Meanings
1. the right-hand side of a ship or aircraft when facing forward

## Examples
- The captain ordered a sharp turn to starboard.

## Antonyms
- port
- larboard

## Related Forms
- steer
- board

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: steorbord
- Root: steor

## Etymology
From Old English 'steorbord', literally 'steer-side', because early ships were steered by a paddle on the right-hand side: 'steor' (steering oar) + 'bord' (side of a ship).

## AI Etymology
Starboard comes from Old English 'steorbord', literally 'steer-side', because early ships were steered by a paddle on the right-hand side: 'steor' (steering oar) + 'bord' (side of a ship). The historical chain includes Old English steorbord and Old English steor. The quoted older senses, "steorbord", "steer-side", "steor", and "bord", supply the semantic anchors for starboard. The formation is best read as borrowed: the word starboard carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a noun, "the right-hand side of a ship or aircraft when facing forward". Related English forms include steer and board. The result is a noun and adj whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction
- Transportation

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starboard

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